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The Valley’s Business Matters ISSN 1047-8582

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www.BusinessJournalDaily.com

Vol. 26 No. 10

MidNOVEMBER 2009

$2.50

Research at YSU Magniﬁes Beneﬁts To Manufacturers By Dan O’Brien

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The chairman of YSU’s chemistry department, Daryl Mincey, stands before a seven-foot-tall electron microscope.

These Are Their Stories Middle-age men looking for work, ﬁnd little demand for their skills. By Dennis LaRue one of the stories that follow has a happy ending, at least not yet. They are accounts of four white middle-aged men who earned comfortable livings until their employers laid them off after the recession hit, how they’re coping, and the adjustments they and their families have made to stay aﬂoat ﬁnancially.

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All have made it a full-time job to ﬁnd another job, they say. “That’s my job: to ﬁnd a job,” says Jon Wheeler of Brookﬁeld. Wheeler, age 47, is a mechanical engineer. Jeff Schreiber, 50, of Leetonia is a cabinetmaker and wood worker. Daniel A. Gonder, 55, of Boardman is a veteran on-air radio announcer and copywriter. And Richard T. Johnson, 56, of New Middletown has been a midlevel manager at various enterSee LOOKING FOR WORK, page 36 Jeff Schreiber was a business-systems analyst; now he’s looking for a job in woodworking.

cientists at Youngstown State University will soon peer deeper into worlds that could unlock the potential for developing stronger materials and new products and, in so doing, accelerate efforts to transform manufacturing in the Mahoning Valley. Powered by a new, seven-foot-tall transmission electron microscope capable of exploring complex, unseen worlds, the YSU chemistry department might provide just the inputs needed to jump-start this effort. “You have to look at this as an enterprise,” says Daryl Mincey, chairman of the chemistry department. “It’s a process of educating businesses and providing the experience and equipment that they can use.” The new microscope is the latest addition in an aggressive effort by

YSU and its chemistry department to form partnerships in the private sector. These partnerships brighten the chances of YSU securing more external funding to foster development in the region, Mincey says. For a university to be truly integrated into economic development, he says, the institution should be within 20 miles of the industries and companies it wants to help. “All the ingredients are here,” he says. Timothy Wagner, professor of chemistry at YSU, relates it is highly unusual for a university the size and scope of his to possess such advanced equipment. “I know of no other non-Ph.D. institution in the country that has the equipment we have,” he says, noting even some universities with doctoral programs lack these capabilities. See YSU RESEARCH, page 13

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23 BusinessJournalDaily Buzz Nov. 16 BusinessJournalDaily.com steps it up Nov. 16 with our BusinessJournalDaily Buzz newscast. Anchor Stacia Erdos and our team of veteran reporters will put the latest local, regional and national business news at your ﬁngertips. Stay tuned! Robin Eisenbrei’s company likely would beneﬁt from the creation of a passenger rail corridor between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Advocates Revive Hope for Passenger Rail in Region By George Nelson

57 Trumbull’s Largest Transactions The West Corp. Call Center building at 5851 Youngstown-Warren Road in Niles was acquired Oct. 2 by Cafaro Leasing Co. Ltd. of Youngstown. The sale price is $2,200,125. It leads this month’s listing of the largest real estate transactions.

40 Under 40 CORRECTION The Extra Edition of The Business Journal, mailed last week to subscribers, failed to correctly report that Bruce Watson of Hill, Barth & King had nominated his colleague, Craig M. Steinhoff. We regret the error.

15 Lou Zona

24 Local.Com

20 Interest Rates

41 BBB Report

23 Media Scope

52 Legal Listings

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ail isn’t in Robin Eisenbrei’s blood, but the mode of transportation, which hearkens back to more than a century ago, has been a part of her life for the past quarter-century. As president and CEO of Morrison Metalweld Process Corp., Eisenbrei began as a secretary with Torent Inc., a local venture capital ﬁrm, and eventually went to work for the president of what was then its Morrison Metalweld division. “Together we grew the company to operate in 50 states,” she recalls, serving short-line railroads, railroad contractors, train systems and industrial sector accounts. The company provides mostly

railroad track welding services, but performs other rail-related work and serves as a distribution agent for suppliers of rail materials to the industry. The CEO, who purchased Morrison from Torent in 2003, was among several rail enthusiasts who attended an Oct. 29 presentation at the Youngstown Club by Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio, a rail advocacy organization. Prendergast was on hand to provide an update on efforts to establish a passenger rail corridor between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The U.S. Department of Transportation is evaluating a request by Govs. Ted Strickland of Ohio and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania to extend the Keystone See RAIL ADVOCATES, page 4

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Rail Advocates: Reviving Hope for Passenger Rail Service From Page 3 High-Speed Rail Corridor westward from Pittsburgh to Cleveland. A federal designation, Prendergast says, would make that route eligible for federal planning and funding for safety improvements. “We’re in kindergarten when it comes to passenger rail service,” Prendergast says of the United States. “Everybody else in the developed world is in college.” A decision on that corridor designation is expected by the end of the year, he says, and at that point comes the step of identifying the most costeffective route for the corridor. One option would link the two cities through Youngstown, the other would go through Alliance. Eisenbrei agrees “absolutely” that such a link would be good for her company and other ﬁrms like it in the region that serve the rail industry. “We have some very good railroad contractors in this area,” she remarks. About 10,000 people already commute daily from the Mahoning Valley to either Cleveland or Pittsburgh, according to statistics Prendergast cited at the Oct. 29 meeting. A 2007 economic impact study projects the proposed corridor could increase rail travel by 100,000 trips a year and result in $50 million to $70 million in development for downtown Youngstown and close to 400 additional jobs. Interest is also building in modes of transportation that can serve as an alternative to automobiles, the result of concerns about the environment, as well as among the elderly who prefer not to drive and

2.00%

younger people who would prefer to spend travel time otherwise occupied. Prendergast and state Rep. Robert Hagan, D-60 Youngstown, shared their experiences from trips they had made to Europe. Hagan recently returned from Spain on a trip to study its high-speed rail system. Today, 40% of that country’s population has access to high-speed rail, a ﬁgure projected to reach 90% by 2020. The 400-mile trip from Madrid to Barcelona took just two hours and 38 minutes, he said. Hagan, a locomotive engineer by profession, chairs the transportation committee in the Ohio House of Representatives and serves as vice chairman of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Coalition “I’m frustrated by the fact that we have so far to go,” he said, adding that he’s encouraged by the interest people showed at the meeting. The real task, he continued, was to persuade people that rail isn’t about the future, but about today. “I know your frustration,” Prendergast responded to Hagan, reﬂecting on his own trip to France – “the promised land,” as he put it – in 2007. “When I came back, I was depressed for at least a month,” he said. But the trip “only reinforced my interest in being a better advocate,” he added. Once a route is selected for the proposed Cleveland-Pittsburgh corridor, a determination on the appropriate speed for the trains running on the line – 79, 90 or 110 miles per hour – would follow. There is no question that rail needs to be used more for personal transportation than it is now, Eisenbrei says, but U.S. railroads now “are pretty

much designated as freight railroads.” She would be more optimistic about prospects for high-speed passenger rail in this region were that line given a separate, dedicated track. Railroad schedules vary based on what trains carry, “so to try to keep a passenger schedule going in the corridor between Pittsburgh and Cleveland would be very difﬁcult,” she says. “There certainly is plenty of room to put a dedicated line in,” she adds. However, to build a brand-new, dedicated passenger line “is asking people to take a massive leap of faith, and I don’t think we’re ready for that,” Prendergast says. The process of building support for rail is “an evolution, even a cultural evolution,” he remarks, and a series of initiatives need to take place to support its development, including promoting better transit connections and rebuilding core cities around train stations. California recently passed a $10 billion bond issue for high-speed rail, an effort that has taken 20 or 30 years, he says. On their trips, he and Hagan recognized “just how many decades this is going to take for this cultural revolution to take place,” he said. “But it’s something that needs to happen if this country is going to be independent when it comes to energy supplies.” While some fear that people will say the initial services provided aren’t good enough, he says what he has seen in other states is that introductory service tends to create a thirst for more, and people want to keep expanding it and improving it.

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*Rate accurate as of November 2, 2009 and is guaranteed for at least 90 days from the date of account opening then may change at any time as the Huntington Business Premier Money Market Account (HBPMMA) is a variable rate account. 1.65% rate applies to balances between $20,000.00 and $2,000,000.99; different rates apply to different balance tiers. Rates in the tiers that do not earn 1.65% are also variable and subject to change without notice even prior to the ﬁrst 90 days. Initial minimum opening deposit required is $20,000.00 and must be new money to Huntington. Rates apply to accounts opened October 12, 2009 or later. When your balance falls into a particular rate tier, your entire balance will earn the applicable rate in effect for that tier, i.e., if your balance reaches $2,000,001.00 or more, your entire balance will earn that lower rate. Offer available one per customer. Public Fund/Government Banking dollars and brokers are not eligible. CHECKING ACCOUNT REQUIREMENT & CONDITIONS: Customer must also have, or open, a business checking account with a $3,000.00 balance which must be titled in the same name(s) as the HBPMMA. Depending on your type of checking account, it may or may not be interest-bearing which will impact the overall return of your total funds on deposit. If checking account is not maintained, your HBPMMA will not be eligible for the 1.65% rate for any rate tiers and you will earn lower rates in all respective rate tiers. APPLICABLE TO BOTH HBPMMA AND CHECKING ACCOUNTS: Fees may reduce earnings on the account. An Early Account Closing fee will apply to accounts closed within 180 days of opening. We reserve the right to limit acceptance of deposits greater than $25,000,000.00. Not valid with any other offer. FDIC insured up to applicable limits.Member FDIC. �®, Huntington® and A bank invested in people.® are federally registered service marks of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated. ©2009 Huntington Bancshares incorporated.

The Business Journal

MidNOVEMBER 2009

Think health care is expensive now? Wait until after reform. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield supports responsible, sustainable health care reform. The proposed federal legislation is not it. If the legislation under consideration passes, the majority of purchasers will pay signiﬁcantly more in health care premiums. This reform is ﬂawed because it expands access without addressing costs, adds taxes and fees, only beneﬁts a few, and could cause more people to become uninsured. This solution is neither responsible nor sustainable for future generations.

Impact of Health Reform on Premiums Younger/Healthy Individuals Small Businesses

199% ó 86% ó

Middle Age / Average Health 122% ó 16% ó

Older/ Less Healthy -11% ò -34% ò

*Percent increase shown before any adjustment for the increase in medical costs over time.

Anthem supports responsible reform. Through our parent company, we have provided Congress and the Administration with information and data on the impact of various proposals, and presented ideas that would help increase access while reducing costs. If you agree that we can and must do better, now is the time to tell your members of Congress that you want responsible, sustainable health care reform that promotes lower costs for all.

Source: Internal Actuarial Data Analysis Released Oct. 2009. To read the full study, please visit www.wellpoint.com. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Community Insurance Company. Independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ® ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

B.J. Alan Co. Seeks Annexation for New Retail Showroom T By Dan O’Brien

he B.J. Alan Co. wants Youngstown to annex six acres the Zoldan Family Ohio Partnership owns along Meridian Road in Austintown Township so it can it can build a new, $1.5 million retail showroom there. William Weimer, vice president and chief counsel for B.J. Alan, said the ﬁreworks distributor wants to relocate its retail operations from the former Greyhound terminal downtown to a larger, brand-new building closer to the region’s freeway system. Such a project requires the six acres be annexed to Youngstown, a topic that has caused heated debate over the last two years between the city and its neighbors. The company said it sought annexation because B.J. Alan’s license restricts its retail operations to Youngstown. Its headquarters would remain downtown. The land is bounded by Meridian Road to the east, Lanterman Road to the south and Salt Springs Road to the north; it sits across the street from the city-owned Salt Springs Road Industrial Park. The petition requesting the annexation of 6.4 acres was ﬁled Oct. 29 with the Board of Mahoning County Commissioners, who must approve any annexation before it takes effect. Commissioners have scheduled a hearing on the matter for Jan. 13. Under Ohio law, a landowner can be granted a request for a city to annex

the property if the land is contiguous to and not in another municipality. Weimer said the Austintown site is preferable to the downtown location for several reasons. First, the new location gives the ﬁreworks company much more visibility since it’s positioned closer to the major Interstate 80 highway interchange. “We can market ourselves better,” he said, “and it’s more convenient for customers because it would be centrally located. “The downtown building just gives us 2,500 square feet of retail space,” Weimer continued. The new showroom would offer 5,000 square feet, the maximum allowed by state law. And it would be built with the latest fire-suppression systems available, Weimer said. Weimer wouldn’t speculate on when the new project might begin, but noted it’s likely the new retail showroom wouldn’t be ﬁnished until the 2011 ﬁreworks season. “It would be a great value for us to put a modern, high-tech store close to the freeway and still be a part of the city,” said Bruce Zoldan, CEO of B.J. Alan. “For us to be located on Meridian just off I-80 would be a major asset.” On Nov. 10, F.N.B. Capital Corp., Pittsburgh, extended $10 million in mezzanine funding to B.J. Alan. Zoldan said the money would be used to expand its Phantom brand, help its business to grow and “assist with the seasonal nature of its business.”

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Renewable Energy: Next Manufacturing Base? Proponents cite state’s industrial heritage as its biggest asset. By Maraline Kubik

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reen energy may offer the best hope for the future of American manufacturing and Ohio is among a handful of states standing to reap the greatest rewards. According to “Building a Clean Energy Assembly Line,” a new report that draws on research from the Renewable Energy Policy Project in collaboration with the Blue Green Alliance, Ohio ranks fourth among all 50 states for potential job creation. Pennsylvania ranks sixth. If renewable electricity standards mandate that power companies obtain 25% of their power from renewable sources by 2025, 51,269 jobs could be created in Ohio, 42,668 in Pennsylvania, the report states. The greatest numbers of jobs would be created in California, 95,616, and Texas, 60,100. Illinois holds the No. 3 spot, with a potential for 56,579 new jobs. Nationwide, more than 850,000 jobs could be created. The reason the industrial Midwest, and Ohio in particular, stands to beneﬁt most is its manufacturing base and entrenchment in the automotive supply chain, says U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Brown discussed report ﬁndings during a press event with the Blue Green Alliance Nov. 4 “If you can make glass for a windshield, you can make it for solar panels,” he said. The same holds true for mechanical parts and gears. Companies that Scot Loveland’s North Jackson company installs wind turbines like this one at Western Reserve High School in Berlin Center. make such components for the auto industry could right,” Brown observed. Interest in green energy is make them for the wind turbine industry. new industries.” If American companies are to be growing, but thus far, the United States’ manufacAt a time when the American auto industry is competitive in the world marketplace, those focused turing base is lagging much of the world. “Seventy struggling, transitioning to produce components for on emerging industries and in their infancy require percent of what we use [solar panels, wind turbine the green energy industry “provides alternatives for government support too. The federal highway syscomponents, etc.] is made abroad,” he said. these existing [parts supply] companies and their tem, oil and nuclear power industries are among Noting the similarities and differences between workers,” Brown observed. those Brown cited as examples that have beneﬁted the automotive and renewable energy industries, Considering existing companies that have the as a result of federal support in the past. Brown said, “The auto industry grew because of the capabilities to produce, or could easily transition America may be the largest potential market natural demand for product. If renewable energy is to produce components for the renewable energy for wind turbines, and installation of wind energy industry, Ohio ranks third, behind California and such a good option, why is there a need for legislasystems and production of wind turbine parts has Illinois for new job creation in the manufacture of tive support?” grown signiﬁcantly. But, noted Rob Gramlich, secomponents for the wind The report describes nior vice president of public policy at the American industry. According to the At a time when the American auto indus- passage of federal capWind Energy Association, who also participated in and-trade legislation for report, 29,820 jobs could the media event, that growth has been unstable. He be created in the Buckeye try is struggling, transitioning to produce carbon emissions as “critiattributes the instability to “on again, off again tax components for the green energy industry cal to creating a market credits.” State. Ohio is also among the “provides alternatives for these existing for renewable resources Without incentives, the costs of installing renewin the most cost-effective forerunners in potential able energy systems are often prohibitive. Even with [parts supply] companies and their work- manner.” It also lauds the job creation in manuthe incentives, it often takes decades to recoup the Investments for Manufacfacturing parts for the ers,” Brown observed. initial investment. turing Progress and Clean geothermal and biomass Those calculations, Gramlich countered, do not Technology (IMPACT) Act of 2009 that Brown industries. With the potential for creating 5,079 jobs consider the volatility of fossil fuel prices. Costs of sponsored. The legislation creates a $30 billion producing components for the geothermal industry, producing green energy are far more stable, he said, manufacturing revolving loan fund over 10 years and 4,537 jobs producing parts for the biomass inand, after the initial investment, are minimal. to assist manufacturers retool their factories for dustry, Ohio ranks fourth on both lists, behind CaliIn Minnesota, it has become more cost effective production of clean energy components while incorfornia, New York and South Carolina for potential to produce energy using the wind than by burning job creation in the geothermal industry, and behind porating energy-efﬁcient manufacturing processes coal, added David Foster, executive director of the Texas, New York and California in biomass. and technologies. Just as important, according to Blue Green Alliance. the report, are federal investment and production Pennsylvania ranks fourth for potential creation Governmental support of the ﬂedgling renewable tax incentives that will help drive the market for energy industry is important, Foster continued, to of 15,767 jobs in the solar/photovoltaic industry, the renewable energy. report states, behind California, Texas and Illinois, ensure that market conditions don’t inhibit longterm “In the United States,” Brown explained, “there which could collectively see 91,415 jobs created. goals. The challenge, he said, “is to convince the See RENEWABLE ENERGY, page 10 is no real free trade. Other countries support their “Clean energy really can be the future if we do it

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Renewable Energy: From Page 9 public that it’s a worthwhile investment.” Nationwide, the number of jobs in green-energy manufacturing increased more the fourfold, from 20,000 to 85,000, “in just a few years,” the Blue Green Alliance’s Foster said. Manufacturing components for the renewable energy industry “can put this country on a very rapid path to job creation.” According to the “Building a Clean Energy Assembly Line” report, “direct employment in the domestic wind-energy sector [in the United States] grew by 35,000 in 2008.” Twenty new factories opened in 2007 and 2008 to manufacture parts for the industry and 17 existing factories expanded to satisfy growing demand for wind turbine systems and components. Many of the new factories, the report notes, were opened by “foreign-based manufacturers.” Large components such as blades and towers are most likely to be manufactured in the United States, the report states, while “many of the highvalue engineering components, such as large bore bearings, gears and drive-train components are still imported.” At Tri-County Tower Service Inc., North Jackson, the company’s newest division, TCT Renewable Energy, which installs wind turbines, has the potential for the fastest growth, says Scot Loveland, renewable energy manager. Tri-County Tower specializes in the construction and maintenance of communications towers. TCT Renewable Energy recently completed the installation of three wind turbines at Western Reserve High School in Berlin Center, the ﬁrst wind project in Ohio designed to power a public school district. “A lot of opponents of wind energy will say that wind is only feasible because of government subsidies,” Loveland reﬂects. “To those people, I say ‘You’re right.’ But name me an energy source in this country that either wasn’t heavily subsidized by the government or isn’t currently heavily subsidized by the government.” Subsidies merely put the renewable energy industry on level footing with other energy industries, Loveland reasons. “Ohio is greatly beneﬁting from being part of the renewable energy supply chain,” he continues, “particularly in research and development and manufacturing. Renewable energy, particularly for our state, could be the new GM. It could be the new U.S. Steel. This could be what gives Ohio back its manufacturing base.” This is the ﬁrst year Tri-County Tower Service has devoted a full-time division and full-time personnel to pursuing wind projects, Loveland reports. “We have seven turbines in the pipeline waiting to put up in the Valley,” he adds. The three-turbine wind project for Western Reserve School District cost just under $400,000 and thus far, the district has qualiﬁed for about $165,000 in state grants. Gov. Ted Strictland visited the high school Nov. 2 to mark completion of the project, which will provide at least 10% of the energy the current high school consumes. Once a new school that will house grades K-12 opens in 2011, the wind turbines could provide a signiﬁcantly larger percentage of the power consumed.

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

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Michael Hripko is the new director of research and economic development at YSU’s STEM College and the new director of the Advanced Manufacturing Initiative.

Hripko Is Academia’s Liaison to Business By Dan O’Brien

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ven the smallest manufacturers in the Mahoning Valley have some of the world’s most sophisticated, technologically advanced systems and resources at their ﬁngertips. They just don’t know it. Yet. It’s Michael Hripko’s job to make it known. The new director of research and economic development at Youngstown State University’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics – or STEM – college says he’s wasted no time spreading the word to the surrounding business community about the resources available through YSU. “There are some brilliant people here who are doing leading, cuttingedge research,” Hripko says. “But we need to have partners” to foster comprehensive economic development in the Mahoning Valley. Hripko acts as the conduit between academia and the business world so that private enterprise can establish and strengthen connections with the university and take their ideas and products to higher levels. “We want to expand our relationship with the companies we already work with and bring in other companies,” he says. One of his duties with the university has Hripko serving as director of the Advanced Manufacturing Initiative, an effort between YSU’s STEM college

and the Youngstown Business Incubator. The charge given the initiative is introducing area manufacturers to new, innovative means of testing and processing, encouraging dialogue and networking among companies, and developing work-force training and products through connections with the universities in the region including YSU, Kent State University and the Eastern Gateway Community College. “A small company seldom has the testing and analytical equipment we have here,” Hripko says. “There’s no one between Pittsburgh and Cleveland that have what we have.” Research and development, Hripko relates, require a substantial amount of analysis by any company. By using resources such as faculty, students and equipment, companies can conduct tests on materials, create product prototypes and discover new methods of making their products better. “We can help a company optimize its design, product and process,” he relates. Among the projects the university and the private sector have collaborated on is the Summer Garden Foods production plant on McClurg Road in Boardman. “Faculty members were able to offer analysis and guidance” so the company could develop a costeffective process for production of its sauces, Hripko says. See HRIPKO, page 12

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Hripko: Liason to Business From Page 11 The plant, considered the first building in the Mahoning Valley to be LEED-certiﬁed – an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – uses sophisticated software engineering and equipment to streamline production. Among the other corporate partners that have struck up relationships with YSU’s STEM and AMI are M-7 Technologies, Northern States Metals and Fireline, all in Youngstown. “What I’m seeing on my ﬁrst two

months on the job is there is a lot of focused, good manufacturing leadership in our community that is very receptive to new ideas,” Hripko says. “All the building blocks are in place. It’s just a matter of taking advantage of the resources we have and stepping on the gas and getting things done.” The STEM College, Hripko adds, could enhance businesses looking to develop interests that range from computer science to biotechnology. However, the core of AMI and STEM is directed at the development of ad-

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vanced materials in manufacturing. “That’s our legacy,” Hripko says. The Mahoning Valley can build on its capacity as a manufacturing center to promote advanced material sciences that stand to improve the production and quality of steel, titanium and ceramics. “That’s really a sweet spot the YSU STEM College is focusing on,” he relates. A similar model was used in Akron with the acceleration of polymer research in the wake of the rubber industry’s collapse. Companies in Kent are using liquid-crystal technology pioneered at Kent State for commercial applications. “We can do the same with material sciences,” Hripko says. Key to developing this is also securing external funding for new equipment, programs and educational initiatives. As director for the Advanced Manufacturing Initiative, Hripko says it’s his responsibility to see that businesses and universities in the area can freely network and exchange ideas that could lead to new business ventures and growth for industry. “We want to position them to be worldclass manufacturers,” he says. He’s found that today there’s much more cooperation from company to company, allowing open communication of which processes work and which don’t. “They’re very willing to share what’s been effective and productive for their facility,” he says. “It’s been a nice dynamic to observe and participate in.” Among the events the Advanced Manufacturing Initiative and the Business Incubator sponsor is its Innovation Series, informational sessions scheduled each calendar quarter that highlight new processes companies and businesses are using to make them more competitive. Hripko, hired as director in August, spent more than 30 years working in

the private sector at Delphi Corp.’s Warren operations. He holds a master’s degree in applied mathematics and a master’s in business administration and has taught college-level courses as an adjunct instructor. He retired last December from Delphi where he was manager of product management and pricing; he has held positions in sales, engineering and strategic planning. “We were looking for someone who knows the community,” says Martin Abraham, dean of the STEM college. “We wanted someone with a career in industry and research, and one who could interact with businesses on their terms and translate this to our faculty.” He says Hripko presented just the kind of hybrid of industry and academia the university was looking for. Abraham says YSU isn’t often the ﬁrst place businesses contact when they’re exploring opportunities in the Mahoning Valley. “Mike is now that point of contact,” he emphasizes. “He’s aware of what we are doing at YSU and he’s in a position to inform them about our assets.” Hripko was selected from a pool of 20 applicants, Abraham said. “One of his primary functions is that he’ll be connecting our faculty with businesses that need research, or providing access to students for companies that need projects done.” While the university isn’t engaged speciﬁcally in incubating new companies, Hripko says, the resources here enable existing manufacturers to expand with the ultimate goal creating more jobs for the area. “I’ve come to realize that our core of manufacturers that have leveraged the university’s resources appear to be progressing quickly,” Hripko says. “No one is resting. There’s a great deal of energy and excitement that a lot of great things are about to happen in the Mahoning Valley.”

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The Business Journal

13

MidNOVEMBER 2009

YSU Celebrates $11.7 Million in Research Funds By Dan O’Brien

Y

David C. Sweet (left), president of Youngstown State University, and Peter Kasvinsky, dean of graduate studies, recognize faculty members for securing millions of dollars in research grants. Accepting awards for their departments are, from left, Daryl Mincey, Tim Wagner and Gary Walker.

YSU Research: Beneﬁts to Manufacturers

From Page 1 The new microscope is the result of a $2 million state grant awarded the university through Ohio’s Third Frontier program, Wagner says. The system, being installed, should be in use within six weeks. YSU secured the funding because the project has seen the university form informal partnerships with the private sector, Wagner says, in this case Fireline TCON Inc. of Youngstown. The company is conducting research and development work on its TCON product, a ceramic/metallic composite with the potential to be used in a variety of commercial applications. While the equipment is important, says Mark Peters, the people YSU provides are just as valuable. “The equipment adds to the university’s capabilities, but it’s the people,” he notes, who interpret and analyze the data. Peters is the general manager of Fireline TCON. “What’s good about this is that YSU can structure new research projects” beneﬁcial to the private sector and the university, he says. The new microscope can magnify material up to 1.2 million times and provide “near-atomic resolution” on materials, Wagner reports. Heavier atoms such as lead could be detected, he relates, and invisible critters such as dust mites are revealed as hideous-looking monsters when magniﬁed to that degree. But the real value is to examine and analyze the inner workings of a material’s crystal structure – steel, for example – and determine how the

material could be improved. Such information could prove invaluable to companies such as Fireline. “If you learn more about how something works, you have even more insight to improve,” Wagner says. Another portion of the project is an upgraded electron scanner microscope, Wagner relates, that can examine larger samples and prep them for more detailed work in the transmission electron microscope. Electron microscopes produce images with higher resolutions than traditional light microscopes. Aside from materials analysis, the device could be used in a variety of scientiﬁc ﬁelds, including cancer research, virology, environmental research and semiconductor work. “We can use this for all sorts of different projects,” Wagner says. “This isn’t the highest resolution microscope, but we traded resolution for more analytical capability.” Last year, the chemistry department secured nearly $3.8 million in external grants for projects such as the electron microscopy program, Mincey says. Among the other upgrades in the department over the years is the development of the nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, lab. He relates the chemistry department and the university’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, has received generous support from area businesses, the state and the ofﬁce of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17 Ohio. Mincey, whose expertise is in environmental analysis and who works

closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says the university’s new superconductor NMR is a critical instrument when used to detect everything from counterfeit liquid pharmaceuticals to creating new compounds that ﬁght diseases. “If I can ﬁnd a way to counterfeit [the cholesterol-lowering drug] Lipitor and get it into the United States, I can make more money than selling cocaine.” he says. “And, the penalties aren’t nearly as severe.” The Internet has helped shift the counterfeit drug market into hyper drive, Mincey says. “Counterfeit medication and drug tampering is more prevalent and sophisticated, so we have to develop new tools to counteract their activities.” Most Internet sites claim they’re based in Canada, but further investigation often ﬁnds that these sellers are operating from China, India or Russia. “We’ve found some of these drugs to hold little active ingredients, or no active ingredients and in some cases, too much,” Mincey says. “It’s just dangerous.” The YSU chemistry department has examined and analyzed samples from all over the world; use of this equipment could easily beneﬁt companies in the region as they ponder new research. “Companies can’t afford to purchase something they may use 5% of the time,” Mincey adds. “We’ll charge a local company with an eye toward the fact we’re doing this to improve economic development in our area.”

oungstown State University honored its faculty and staff Nov. 4 for work that has enhanced research, external funding and scholarship during ﬁscal 2009. “This celebrates our foundation as an urban research university,” said the president of the university, David C. Sweet. He cited initiatives such as the university’s strategic plans for developing centers of excellence in departments throughout the institution and the state programs such as the HUB sites of innovation and opportunity. “There are a lot of bright items on the horizon,” Sweet told the audience of 100 during a luncheon convened in Kilcawley Center to recognize their achievements. Last year, YSU obtained $11.7 million in external grants for department projects, said Peter Kasvinsky, dean of graduate studies and research. One-third of this funding – $3.8 million – was secured through the chemistry department, he noted, and represented half of the grants awarded to YSU’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, college. The chemistry department, the department of biological sciences and chemistry professor Timothy Wagner were all presented with dean’s awards during the ceremony. The scope of research grants awarded the university during fiscal 2009 represents a “sea change” in attracting funding since the early 1990s, Kasvinsky said. In 1993, for example, YSU netted $400,000 in grant money. “Back then, every program required matching funds, and YSU didn’t do that,” Kasvinsky said. Other initiatives awarded external funding last year included three grants for the Williamson College of Business Administration, ﬁve for the college of education and two for the college of ﬁne and performing arts.

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

The Valley’s Business

The Business Journal

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T he Business Journal is published semimonthly (twice a month) in Youngstown, Ohio. Copyright 2009 by Youngstown Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Average Issue Readership: 45,000 Mail Subscription Rates: $42 for 12 months; $77 for 24 months; $96 for 36 months. Back Issues: If available, $4.75 apiece prepaid (mailed); $3.25 apiece prepaid (picked up at our ofﬁce). Submission Policy: News articles and photographs may be submitted but cannot be returned. We reserve the right to select and edit all articles and letters. All submissions become the editorial property of The Business Journal. Submissions may be edited and may be published or re-used in any medium including Business Journal television and radio reports and the Daily Business Journal Online.

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Journal Opinion

Williams Deserves Recognition Jay Williams’ election as mayor of Youngstown four years ago broke barriers and deﬁed expectations. Last week he was re-elected, virtually by acclamation, in an election that was a killing ﬁeld for the careers of numerous incumbents across the Mahoning Valley and the nation. Two years ago, readers may recall, Williams was recognized with no less an honor than the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award. Two weeks ago, he added another accomplishment: named by Governing magazine as one of the eight individuals to receive its Public Ofﬁcial of the Year Award. Among the award’s past recipients are George Voinovich, former Ohio governor and now a U.S. senator, and former Kansas Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius, who went on to be elected governor of her state and today is secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The recognition by Governing magazine is an important acknowledgment of Williams’ leadership of his city – and in some respects his leadership of the Mahoning Valley. At his direction, Youngstown took the lead in putting together – and securing infrastructure improvement funds – an industrial park in cooperation with the city of Girard and V&M Star Steel, which is considering the site for a $970 million expansion. Indeed, Williams – who had been in Germany as an invited speaker at a conference – was in Paris on a side trip to lobby V&M’s top management for the project when Governing announced its awards.

As Alan Greenblatt wrote in the Governing article, “Urban Realist,” that proﬁled Williams: “Mayors in other once-great but decimated industrial cities continue to cling to vaporous plans for bringing them back to what they once were. Williams, by contrast, has persuaded Youngstown to embrace a vision for itself as a smaller entity. No one in America has more forcefully articulated the notion that for economically devastated cities, a leaner future can still be a healthy future.” Youngstown obviously has large obstacles to surmount, including streets that residents and visitors alike fear are unsafe and an unemployment rate in double digits. These obstacles are not situations within the mayor’s complete control; they are, nevertheless, his to cope with. We haven’t agreed with every decision Williams has made in his ﬁrst term. Certainly there are areas where we’ve seen him as timid, where we wish the city had been more aggressive – for instance, failing to impose joint economic development districts in Boardman and Austintown in return for continued water service. But in general, Williams has done well managing a difﬁcult political environment in difﬁcult times. We are particularly grateful – and the region should be as well – that he has continued the city’s aggressive focus on economic development, hindered as the city is by limited ﬁnancial resources, and that he remains a staunch advocate for regionalization, not always a popular stance to take.

The Business Journal

MidNOVEMBER 2009

BY LOUIS A. ZONA

Impressions Williams, Williams and Even More Williams What could be a greater superlative?

was, of course, one of America’s most gifted playwrights. Among his works are “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “The hat do the musical score Glass Menagerie” and “Night of the of “Jaws,” the last Major Iguana.” Leaguer to bat .400 and “A What got me on this topic is Streetcar Named how many people Desire” have in Of all the Williamses in enter- I have known with common? Give tainment, perhaps it is Robin the last name of up? Williams and I All are credited Williams who is the most be- must say that I am to the skill or talent loved. blessed to call all of a man surnamed of them friends. A Williams. John Williams, probably our very special classmate in college was greatest living composer, also wrote Patty Williams – she died a few years the music for ﬁlms such as “Superago – a well-known art teacher in the man,” “Star Wars,” “Close Encounters inner city schools. I’ll always rememof the Third Kind,” “E.T.” and many ber our graduation from Youngstown other hits at the box ofﬁce. State University and how we disrupted One of my favorite ball players is the program – unintentionally, I’m Ted Williams, the “Splendid Splinter,” quick to point out – by getting out of the purest hitter of all time and the alphabetical order and bringing the last man to ﬁnish the regular Major ceremony to a halt. League season with a batting average Warren Williams is a boyhood of .400 or better. Tennessee Williams, friend from New Castle who cona Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, See ZONA, page 16

W

BY GAIL WHITE

Commentary My Frenzy for Fly-Tying

I

am a self-proclaimed entertainment and media critic. It doesn’t matter what the topic or medium, I have an opinion. A talking gecko: absolute genius. Money with eyes on it: a creepy disaster. Kenya West: not a real singer, just a punk. Harry Connick Jr.: one of the greatest, underappreciated artists of our day. “The Big Bang Theory”: one of the most well-written, perfectly cast shows on television today. “Accidentally On Purpose”: one show is one show too many. I share my opinions with anyone near me, whether they are interested

or not. (Most often they are not.) Being this self-proclaimed critic, I had an absolute ﬁeld day with a DVD given to me recently. But what I learned after all my ranting about this sub-par production, was both humbling and enlightening. After spending a week this summer in the hills of Pennsylvania, I decided that I was going to take up the sport of ﬂy-ﬁshing. We happened to stay in a cabin whose owner is an avid fly-fisherman. There was a glass-covered box showcasing all his ﬂies, which I found absolutely fascinating. Fly-fishing magazines were all over the house and they became the perfect readSee WHITE, page 16

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

The Business Journal

Zona: Williams, Williams and Even Marc Williams From Page 15 tributed to the lives of hundreds of students as a much-admired guidance counselor in that school district. To this day, Warren and I like to tease each other as to who was the poorer growing up. I told Warren my family was so poor that we had a dirt-ﬂoor basement. “Oh?” Warren responds, “So you had a basement!” I was also lucky enough to have known McCullough Williams, an esteemed leader on the North Side. His wife, Juanita Williams, serves on the board of the Butler Institute. Don “Bones” Williams, who runs the studio cameras at WKBN-TV, is one of the most respected painters in our area and one hysterically funny person. His wife, Sheila, likes to remind everyone that he was in love with one of the stars of “WKRP in Cincinnati,” Lonnie Anderson, and dreamed of one day meeting her. His dream come true when Lonnie visited WKBN on a promotional tour and gave Don a big hug. I wouldn’t be surprised if the photo of that hug is on Don’s Facebook page. Jeffery Williams has not only practiced law in Youngstown and Cleveland, today he is an administrator for a prominent Boston-based foundation. What most people don’t know about Jeffery is that he is also a trained concert violinist and the only person I ever met who personally spoke to Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. In all, by my reckoning, I have known maybe 50 people named Williams, all wonderful folks, and why I have such a good feeling about that

name. My research tells me that the name Williams probably extends from William the Conqueror and that most Williamses reside in Wales. It is the third-most popular surname in the United States, right behind Smith and Johnson. According to the 1990 census there are about 1.5 million Williamses in America. The very ﬁrst was Thomas Williams, who arrived in 1620 aboard the Mayﬂower. One of my favorite singers is Andy Williams whose rendition of “Moon River” is one of the most honored recordings of all time. People who have seen his show in Branson, Mo., say that his voice has lost little of its timber. And speaking of recording artists, what can you say about the legendary Country and Western star Hank Williams, who gave us “Cold, Cold Heart” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart” among many other hits? And let’s not forget Hank Williams Jr. who became as popular as his dad. “Are you ready for some football!” The music world has been enriched by many Williamses. Mason Williams gave us “Classical Gas,” a real gas and a classic. Then there’s the master of the piano, Roger Williams, and the late jazz singer, Joe Williams, whose baritone voice is simply unforgettable. Let’s also recall the extraordinary talent of Paul Williams, writer of favorites such as “An Old-Fashioned Love Song” and “You and Me Against the World,” even Kermit the Frog’s “The Rainbow Connection.” You might remember this diminutive Williams as one of the apes

in “Battle for Planet of the Apes.” Vanessa Williams has made quite a name for herself as a model, actress and singer and Treat Williams as a serious actor. Those of us in, ahem, middle age, remember Cindy Williams of “Laverne and Shirley” and Anson Williams in a popular TV show of the same time, “Happy Days.” He played Potsie. Today he is a well-known director – “Beverly Hills 90120,” “Melrose Place” and “Star Trek: Voyager” are among his credits. We’d be remiss to overlook the Hollywood star of the ’30s and ’40s, Esther Williams, who was to swimming what Ginger Rogers was to dance. Esther Williams’ name lives on in a line of swimming pools. Billy Dee Williams, a fantastic talent, has entertained us as an actor, artist, singer and writer. He left us hanging on a cliff in the original “Star Wars” trilogy only to redeem himself in the next movie, but I loved him in the melodrama for men, “Brian’s Song.” Of all the Williamses in entertainment, perhaps it is Robin William who is the most beloved. If there is a funnier person on the planet, I want to know who. He was great in “Good Morning, Viet Nam,” “Dead Poets’ Society” and “Mrs. Doubtﬁre.” And his performance opposite Nathan Lane in “The Birdcage” was nothing less than amazing as he duplicated the dance forms of three or four famous choreographers in 30 seconds. Even he couldn’t do that again. Although Ted Williams may be the

greatest athlete to carry the name, we can’t ignore the great third baseman who played for the Giants, Indians and Diamondbacks, Matt Williams. Billy Williams who played for the Chicago Cubs in the 1960s and ’70s in the hall of fame at Cooperstown. How can any Pittsburgh Pirates fan forget the Mike Williams who was the team’s closer for ﬁve seasons and gave us a heart attack each time he was called from the bullpen? The talented football running back Ricky Williams achieved a certain notoriety for retiring from the Miami Dolphins when he tested positive for marijuana. Serena Williams may be the greatest female tennis player ever and her sister, Venus, isn’t far behind. One of our country’s greatest poets is William Carlos Williams who had profound influence on American poetry in the 20th century. William Williams, a prominent painter in Colonial America, also wrote novels. Today his novels are more of interest to academicians. And so it goes. If somehow you could quantify such things, I would venture to say the popularity of the NBC news anchor Brian Williams would rank him as the best-known Williams. With apologies to my good friends Don, Warren and Jeffery, you can’t compete with the national media for exposure. Speaking of exposure, unless I want to get into the variations on Williams such as McWilliams, Williamson, even Wilhelm, I had better cue John to bring this to a close with gentle refrains of the theme from “Jaws.”

When the camera zoomed in to show intricate work, the shot would go blurry waiting for the lens to adjust. At one point, a phone rang in the background and it was noticeably evident where the camera was stopped to answer the call. (There was no “Take 2” in this production.) I, on the other hand, had to watch the show twice because I was laughing so hard the ﬁrst time I missed most of what the hands were showing. Once I put my production values aside and reviewed what I had learned, I realized that those amazing hands had tied three ties in 12 minutes. They made it look so simple. Not only that, when I looked at my anglers tool kit, I now knew exactly what to do with every tool. In possibly the worst production quality video ever produced, the goal

was accomplished. The art of tying flies that I desperately wanted to learn but had found to be frustrating and defeating, became easy and even fun after watching this “hands-on” tape. In a world where “image is everything” and bells and whistles abound like cliches, I realized sometimes the simple nuts and bolts are all you need. It’s an interesting concept and it will change the way I critique from now on. Simple yet effective. I’d like to think I came up with ingenius strategy but I’m pretty sure others have beat me to the punch – like those darn creators of “Just Do It.”

White: My Frenzy for Fly-Tying From Page 15

front of me, the process took me a full hour-and-a-half. My friend who ing material as I sat swinging on the gave me the kit commented, “It will cabin porch in the evenings. And, as be interesting to see the ﬁsh that tie we ﬂoated down Penn’s Creek in incatches.” ner tubes, we passed these sporting Scrounging through the dead aniﬁsherman, whipping their lines back mal material, I found a DVD instrucand forth, at every turn. (Apparently tion video. Penn’s Creek is world-renowned for its Popping it in trout ﬁshing.) the computer I sat For my birthday in September, I don’t know if the hands belong anxiously waiting a friend gave me to a face, because through the for the video to all the tools of the entire video a face was never play. There was no trade – a ﬂy-ﬁsh- shown. introduction, no ing rod, an angler’s music, no title tool kit and a box slide. The video opened up to two of material for making ﬂies. I was hands next to the ﬂy-tying vise. shocked to ﬁnd that these materials I don’t know if the hands belong included peacock herl, deer hair, to a face, because through the entire hare’s dubbing and feathers from a video a face was never shown. It was pheasant’s rump, just to name a few. just a voice with hands. And they were I sat down to tie my ﬁrst ﬂy, a wooly not pretty hands at that. worm. With the instruction book in

The author, Gail White, is an account executive with The Business Journal. Reach her at 330 744 5023 or at [email protected].

The Business Journal

17

MidNOVEMBER 2009

YOUNGSTOWN - WARREN

Regional Chamber Report It’s Not Just the Idea REACH program reaches out to wouldbe entrepreneurs. By Jim Rowlands Director, Regional Chamber REACH Program Many individuals who desire to become entrepreneurs start with an idea. It could be for the creation or modiﬁcation of a new or existing product or service, an invention or the acquisition of a business or franchise. The common denominator for all would-be entrepreneurs, however, is the idea. So what do entrepreneurs do with their ideas? Many entreprneurs ask, “How do I start a business?” And too often, many believe the ﬁrst logical step is to take their idea to banks in search of funding, only to be disappointed when lenders fail to share their enthusiasm for their idea. Following such an early defeat, some entrepreneurs then seek advice from others, who advise them to write a business plan. Armed with renewed excitement, a hopeful entrepreneur begins learning how to write a business plan, often through online research, books or businessplan software he buys – all of which simply provides written outlines of what should go into a business plan. With these items in hand, he begins to write his business plan. The business plan begins easily enough as the entrepreneur describes the idea or product, but soon he begins to feel overwhelmed when it comes time to prepare the marketing and ﬁnancial plans and projections, and decide how much capital the business will need. Frequently for new entrepreneurs, making business and lending sense of an idea is not a core strength. But unfortunately at this point, frustration can delay the start or realization of even the best ideas. So where can an entrepreneur turn for assistance?

The area is home to several organizations that provide business-plan counseling services to entrepreneurs. For example, these services are available through the counselors at Score (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and the SBDC (Small Business Development Center). The Regional Chamber also offers similar services through its Regional Entrepreneurial Assistance Channel of the Mahoning Valley, or REACH, which began operating last December with funding from a federal grant. REACH is staffed by me, Don Colvin and Jiacheng “Jack” Guo. Our education, extensive and diverse experience in all aspects of business operations, are assets to entrepreneurs navigating the confusing world of startups and business acquisition. Our REACH team counsels entrepreneurs and closely guides them as they take an idea through a measure of business and ﬁnancial feasibility. If we can make business and ﬁnancing sense of an idea, we will write the entire business plan and source all ﬁnancing for an entrepreneur, a service that distinguishes REACH from similar programs in the area. However, our services extend beyond assisting entrepreneurs. We at REACH also assist existing businesses with strategic planning, financial structure, pricing models, process improvements, research, marketing and any other need that might arise as businesses strive to become ﬁnancially and operationally stable. Since its inception, the REACH team has worked with more than 100 clients. The team’s efforts have resulted in the funding of two projects. Approximately a dozen projects are receiving consulting assistance or are in the feasibility stage of the process. We’ve seen several successes, including a manufacturing startup that will employ 30 and a project that represents the fulﬁllment of an entrepreneur’s dream to own her own business, which she successfully acquired with the help of the REACH staff. If you have an idea that you would like to make a reality, contact REACH for an appointment at 330 744 2131, ext. 61. And stay tuned for future articles in which I discuss the various stages of business development.

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

November 6, 2009

The Business Journal

Interest Rates CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT PASSBOOK

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

��

TERM

ANNUAL PERCENTAGE YIELD, 2-Week Trend

STATEMENT SAVINGS APY*

CF BANK (formerly Central Federal S&L) Wellsville

1 Year 24 Mos.

1.00  1.00 

.10/ N.A.

CHARTER ONE BANK

12 Mos. 5 Year

.40 — 2.00 —

N.A./ .05

CONSUMERS NATIONAL BANK Salem

12 Mos. 4 Year

.60 — 2.50 —

.10/ .10

CORTLAND BANKS Cortland

1 Year 5 Year

.75 — 2.50 —

.50/ .25

E.S.B. BANK Ellwood City, Pa.

1 Year 4 Year

.90 — 2.25 —

.30/ .30

FARMERS NATIONAL BANK Canﬁeld

1 Year 4 Year

.85 — 1.90 —

.10/ .25

FIRST MERIT BANK New Castle, Pa.

1 Year 2 Year

.45 — 1.00 —

N.A./ .05

FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF PA. Hermitage, Pa.

1 Year 5 Year

.50 — 2.25 —

N.A./ .10

1ST NATIONAL COMMUNITY BANK East Liverpool

1 Year 37 Mos.

1.00 — 2.58 

.20/ .40

FIRST PLACE BANK Boardman

6 Mos. 12 Mos.

.45  1.00 

.25/ .25

HOME FEDERAL Niles

1 Year 3 Year

1.21 — 2.02 —

.50/ .60

HOME SAVINGS Youngstown

12 Mos. 5 Year

1.35 — 2.80 —

.35/ .35 N.A./ N.A.

Minimum $500 Minimum $500

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HUNTINGTON BANK Youngstown

1 Year 4 Year

1.10  2.75 

KEYBANK Youngstown

1 Year 3 Year 5 Year

.15 — 1.35 — 2.35 —

MIDDLEFIELD BANKING COMPANY Cortland

1 Year 13 Mos. 2 Year

1.15  1.91  1.91 —

.50/ .75

PNC BANK Youngstown

1 Year 43 Mos.

.70 — 1.25 —

N.A./ N.A.

PNC BANK Conneaut Lake, Pa.

1 Year 5 Year

.75 — 1.55 —

N.A./ .05

US BANK (formerly Firstar Bank) Boardman

1 Year 59 Mos.

.30 — 3.00 —

N.A./ .10

*Annual Percentage Yield

N.A./ .45

Arrows tell whether rates rose or fell since last issue. Dashes indicate “unchanged.”

Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of The Business Journal compilations. Rates are subject to change without notice and should be conﬁrmed with the individual ﬁnancial institution before entering into transactions. ©2009 Youngstown Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

The Business Journal

19

MidNOVEMBER 2009

CPAs Boost Odds of Success for Startups T By Dennis LaRue

he odds are long against any would-be entrepreneur and they’re even longer when that would-be entrepreneur, for whatever reason, doesn’t engage a certified professional accountant as early as he can in his venture. “Starting a business is not for the faint of heart,” says James E. Cournan, principal in Packer Thomas, Youngstown. When an aspiring business owner is still weighing whether to strike out on his own is none too early to approach a CPA, the ﬁve interviewed for this article agree. “All too often,” says James Dascenzo, a principal with Hill, Barth & King LLC, “they get to the end of the [calendar] year and say, ‘I need you to do my taxes.’ ” “We get both kinds,” says Michael Humphries principal at Yurchyk & Davis CPA’s Inc., Canﬁeld, “upfront and those who wait a year. The worst is when people get behind. We work on them to be proactive.” Adds Cournan, “My experience is that nine of 10 who go into business fail.” Which is not to say he hasn’t helped his clients become successes. He has and shares aspects of their stories. “Starting a business is a very, very difﬁcult thing to do,” he emphasizes. “People who punch a time clock have little idea of all that’s involved.” The owners of most startups “work 80-hour a week jobs,” says Pat O’Connor, principal at O’Connor, Hoso & Loree LLC, Howland. Even when they outsource functions such as payroll services, as he often advises, they’re going to ﬁnd they spend most of their waking hours on the job, he says. A sole practitioner, Margaret R. Filaccio, a CPA in Liberty, has found some “entrepreneurs” approach her for the wrong reason. They think that by going into business they can enjoy tax advantages by writing off various expenses denied those ﬁling as individuals. Filaccio politely suggests they look elsewhere. The ﬁrm of Yurchyk & Davis offers classes in the record-keeping systems of QuickBooks and PeachTree, Humphries says, and suggests that would-be entrepreneurs take one of the courses as an orientation to what they’ll encounter. All public accounting ﬁrms recommend their small-business clients use one or the other and work with them. Yurchyk & Davis is one of the few to offer classes throughout the year. Although the recession is far from over when it comes to the unemployment rate – the Department of Labor reported Nov. 6 that the rate in October rose to 10.2%, the highest national rate in 26 years – few of the unemployed residents of the Valley seem inspired to even explore launching a venture, the CPAs say. That may be because those weighing whether to set out on their own perceive “CPAs as tax preparers only,” Dascenzo suggests. It could be because they haven’t exhausted their unemployment beneﬁts, others suggest. “My most successful startup client [began] at the end of the last recession,” Dascenzo says. “The ﬁrst person he came to was me.” “Some of the best success stories have come from

people who lost their jobs,” Humphries says. The conventional wisdom, the CPAs agree, is that a would-be business owner needs the services of a CPA, an attorney, a lender (rarely a commercial bank; banks want to see more than a good idea) and an insurance agent. “I spend more time talking people out of going into business than going in,” Packer Thomas’ Cournan relates. “Ninety percent have no idea how

hard it is going into business. ... My goal is not to dissuade as much as making sure they know what they’re getting into.” At the very least, visits with an accountant and an attorney will allow the entrepreneur to choose “the type of entity they want to create,” Yurchyk & Davis’ Humphries says, “[usually] a sole proprietorship or LLC [limited liability corporation]. Then you get See CPAs, page 21

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November 6, 2009

The Business Journal

Credit Union Rates

CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

Term

ASSOCIATED SCHOOL EMPLOYEES

1 Year 2 Year

1.30 — 1.95 —

FIRST CHOICE COMMUNITY (formerly RMI CO. EMPLOYEES)

1 Year 2 Year

OHIO EDISON/ PENN POWER

MORTGAGE LOANS

AUTO LOANS

Down Payment

Fees

Term

Rate

Type

$1,000 $1,000

Up to 48 Mos. Up to 60 Mos.

5.70 6.20

Fixed Fixed

20% 20%

15 Year 20 Year

5.00 — 5.25 —

2+200 2+200

1.85 — 2.12 —

$500 $500

Up to 48 Mos. Up to 60 Mos.

5.65 5.65

Fixed

20%

15 Year

5.50 —

0+costs

1 Year 2 Year

1.55 — 1.90 —

$1,000 $1,000

Up to 48 Mos. Up to 60 Mos.

5.20 5.49

Fixed Fixed

5% 5%

15 Year 30 Year

4.625  5.125 

0+costs 0+costs

SEVEN SEVENTEEN

1 Year 2 Year

1.21  1.75 —

$1,000 $1,000

Up to 48 Mos. Up to 60 Mos.

5.99 5.99

Fixed Fixed

5% 5%

15 Year 30 Year

4.50  5.125 

0+costs 0+costs

STRUTHERS FEDERAL

1 Year 2 Year

1.00 — 1.51 —

$1,000 $1,000

Up to 48 Mos. Up to 66 Mos.

6.00 6.00

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

YOUNGSTOWN CITY EMPLOYEES FEDERAL

1 Year 2 Year

1.25  1.65 —

$2,000 $2,000

Up to 60 Mos. Up to 72 Mos.

5.75 6.99

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

APY

Minimum

Term

Rate, 2-Wk Trend

Arrows tell whether rates rose or fell since last issue. Dashes indicate “unchanged.” Rates are subject to change without notice and should be conﬁrmed before entering into transactions. ©2009 Youngstown Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

The Business Journal

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

CPAs: Boost Odds of Success for Startups From Page 19 them a federal I.D. number so they can open a bank account and prepare their tax returns.” “Have a checking account dedicated to your business,” Filaccio advises. Don’t use your personal account as your business account. At year-end it’s easy to forget which checks paid expenses related to the business, which were for household expenses. While a lawyer handles the paperwork on the type of entity to be created, Dascenzo says, “You need a CPA to ﬁle the election. The IRS has loosened up on that. It used to be that the business owner could ﬁle but would leave that to his attorney. The attorney would say, ‘That’s not my department’ [to physically ﬁle], so you need your accountant to follow up and make sure it’s ﬁled.” Among the aspects of going into business that are misunderstood are the tax beneﬁts of setting up an ofﬁce in one’s residence. “Before you can take a deduction,” Filaccio points out, “you must show a proﬁt,” and many startups don’t begin to show a proﬁt much before three years. The business owner can carry the early losses forward “but you must be careful to meet the letter of the law. The IRS is real stringent.” “The IRS watches this because it’s easily abused,” O’Connor adds. All CPAs stress that an ofﬁce inside the business owner’s residence can be used only for business to qualify for the deduction. The owner’s children may not use the computer to play games or do their homework, for example. The ofﬁce in one’s home, regardless of whether one owns a company, “must be their primary place of business,” Dascenzo says. “You can’t have another ofﬁce provided by an employer.” Use of a personal auto in one’s business is also something the IRS keeps a close watch on, Filaccio says. The importance of record-keeping is one aspect the CPAs couldn’t stress enough, both to allow them to offer advice to owners on how to be more efﬁcient in running their businesses and preparing tax returns. The ﬁrst time a business owner approaches a bank for a loan, the banker will want to see a detailed business plan, something CPAs are familiar with and help with all the time. While that ﬁrst time might not be until two or three years after the owner opens his doors, the CPAs urge entrepreneurs to have one and revisit it regularly. “Having a well-thought-out plan is no guarantee you’re going to get the loan,” Filaccio says. “But you should still have one.” All CPAs commented on how much tougher it is for their clients, both new and established, to secure bank ﬁnancing regardless of what the banks say about having money to lend. When an owner is ready to approach a bank, the lending ofﬁcer “will want to see the owner’s skin in the game,” Dascenzo states. “You’ve got to be willing to put your house up as collateral,” Filaccio says. “Many are not willing.” “They want to see more equity,” Humphries says. “It’s a lot tougher. They want to see income, cash ﬂow and the ability to repay.” Buying a franchise may reduce some of the risk of going into business for yourself, the CPAs agree, and

the franchise ought to provide services and counsel that supplement what a CPA offers, but it would be a mistake to count on that. “You must be passionate about what the franchise offers,” Cournan says. “Maybe the franchise will be responsible for 50% of your success, but the other 50% is the person you see in the mirror in the morning.” CPAs can help the owners of new businesses avoid some pitfalls that occur at established businesses, including setting up effective internal controls. At the outset, O’Connor notes, morale and

The only certainty is uncertainty.

enthusiasm run high and the worry about employee theft is minimal. “New-business owners are naïve about stealing,” he says. For that reason he advises that the owner sign all checks himself, whether paper checks or payments made through the Internet, that the owner sign checks behind closed doors, and have the cancelled checks and statements sent to his residence so they can’t be intercepted – and altered – by an employee. What’s the buzz? BusinessJournalDaily Buzz. Coming soon online and to your desktop.

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

BY STACIA ERDOS

Media Scope What’s the Buzz? Our Daily Webcast

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BusinessJournalDaily Buzz brings video news to your desktop.

My responsibilities include assigning crews, ordering supplies, scheduling, and writing and anchoring the Webcast each day. Reporter Jeremy Lydic has become an overnight expert hen I first walked into on editing video and trouble-shooting the ofﬁces of The Business anything technical that’s over my head Journal in downtown (just about everything). We also have Youngstown in May, I saw reporters two YSU students who are bringing typing away on their keyboards and their creative ideas and talents to running out to cover stories. I would shooting and producing the video segsoon be joining ments every day. the team, writing We’re basically putting together Then there’s sea column and videographer a daily television newscast for nior p ro d u c i n g a n d To n y M a n c i n o anchoring video the Internet. who continues to reports twice a impart his years of week. Publisher Andrea Wood was experience to us all and bless us with taking the plunge into online video, his – uh – cheerful attitude. (We love by all accounts the future of print you Tony.) media. Business Journal reporters also It was still unclear just where the are trying their hand at “on air” work new video summaries would be shot and are learning to shoot video as and edited. The most likely prospect well. The brains behind it all, Andrea, was a small storage room full of boxes, continues to come up with groundshelves, a computer and a fax mabreaking ideas everyday to improve chine. If you used your imagination, and expand our ﬂedgling operation. well…OK, it was hard to picture. The BusinessJournalDaily Buzz is What a difference five months designed to offer local business people makes! The storage room plan never something different, drawing on all saw the light of day. Instead, it jumped the resources – print, online and now to a whole new level. We now have video – of our news-gathering opa second ofﬁce suite that has been eration. We gather the day’s business transformed into a video newsroom news for you, bring it to you in one and studio. We have three video camplace where you can watch online at eras, two editing stations, a news set, your convenience – at home, at work lights, microphones, even an “on-air” and on the go. sign on the door (compliments of our Of course, for more comprehensive landlord, Ohio One Corp.). coverage of a particular subject, you And so, The Business Journal takes can read the stories written by our a big leap Nov. 16 by launching a daily veteran reporters on the BusinessJourWebcast – BusinessJournalDaily Buzz. nalDaily.com Web site and in our print The latest local and national business edition, now celebrating 25 years. news will be at your ﬁngertips everyIt’s the true deﬁnition of converday. The Buzz will be delivered via gence journalism. e-mail each business day and available For me, it’s back to what I’ve always on the BusinessJournalDaily.com done, just in a different medium. It’s Web site as soon as you return from hitting daily deadlines with a rush to lunch as well as on a dedicated site, get all of the overnight and morning BusinessJournalDailyBuzz.com. news shot and a script written and It’s been quite a journey, buying edited while you are getting through equipment, hiring staff and coveryour morning meetings – and deliving daily news events and posting ering the Buzz when you’re ready to them immediately on the Web. We’re check your e-mails after lunch. basically putting together a daily teleFind out what the Valley is buzzing vision newscast for the Internet. about Nov. 16.

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The Business Journal

BY MONNIE RYAN

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Valley Photographers Click with Web Sites View displays of their work, check prices.

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espite jumping into photography with both hands, �� both feet and at least four cameras, I’ve never been tempted to �� “go pro.” (The expensive equipment �� alone would be a deal-breaker at this �� stage of the game.) �� If I ever made the plunge, how�� ever, there are three things I couldn’t �� live without: Digital cameras, a good �� photo-editing software program and �� a Web site where I could display and � �� promote the fruits of my labors. So it was that I decided to see what �� photography professionals are doing �� online. As it turns out, it’s plenty; a �� quick look at the Yellow Pages (in print and online) turned up a sub� stantial number that include their Web site addresses in the ads and even basic listings. For no other reason than I live in Trumbull County, I started there, speciﬁcally at Mathews Photography �� in Girard, MathewsFoto.com. Owner �� Don Mathews and his wife, Jackie, �� have been in business more than 15 �� years, with expertise in categories � � � �� such as sports leagues, families, �� weddings and even pets. Other than �� enjoying the portfolio – which is the � �� case with all�� the photographers’ sites I �� visited – I particularly liked the FAQs section that lists current prices and even tips for clothing and makeup. � � � From Girard, I headed to Arbo�� gast Photography in Columbiana, �� ArbogastPhotography.com, where �� the home page held my attention for � �� some time as I looked at the loop of �� gorgeous photos displayed front and �� center. If I needed inspiration for my �� own creations, I sure found it here. �� Featured galleries center on wed� �� dings, families and high school seniors; each collection of half a dozen �� or so downloads quickly. A special �� password-protection section allows �� clients to view their photos privately � �� and order prints. �� From there, I went to Hermitage, Pa., and Marti’s Memories, Martis��

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Memories.com. Here, too, price sheets are available for weddings, seniors and photo-embellished products such as T-shirts, mugs, trivets and more. Wedding, family-event and senior “albums” make it easy for friends and relatives to order prints. Owner Marti Nicastro also specializes in restoring photos, whether that means preserving an old family portrait or removing that ex-husband or wife now that he or she no longer is in the picture (pun intended). In Salem, I found J.D. King Photography, JDKing.net, and learned that owner Jerry D. King has been a professional photographer for seven years. Macros, or close-ups, of ﬂowers are my ﬁrst love, so I gravitated to that gallery ﬁrst. Another favorite section is King’s historical photos, especially of the Sandy & Beaver Canal. Thumbnails can be viewed in larger sizes, and the site – hosted at SmugMug.com – allows visitors to purchase prints on the spot. Acri Photography in North Jackson sets up the site, AcriPhoto.com, with one sample photo in each of four categories of weddings, families, seniors and pets. Here, the pets got my attention, especially those two gorgeous feline furballs perched on a red velvet throw. I’d love to see larger versions, but I’m guessing they’re kept small so they’d be worthless if someone tried to download and print them. I ended this search in Canﬁeld at Stacy Studio, StaceyStudio.com. Parts of the site were under construction at press time, but I did peek at some of the galleries to see the beautiful and unique photos. I especially like that hovering your mouse over a thumbnail brings a larger-size version of that photo. Although I usually hit the “skip” option when I land on a site that has an animated home page, this one is so intriguing that I watched it all the way through – and I suggest that you do the same. What’s the buzz? BusinessJournalDaily Buzz. Coming soon to your desktop.

The Business Journal

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The Business Journal

The Business Journal

Pages 27-32

MidNOVEMBER 2009

27

JewelryBusiness

Exclusive Lines Put Sparkle in Jewelers’ Eyes Higher-priced items are still likely to sell despite the economic recession. By Jeremy Lydic

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ith the price of gold reaching record highs and the economy forcing people to tighten their belts, the jewelry business isn’t recession-proof. Regardless, there’s still a certain brightness in sales when it comes to specialty products. Since opening its second store in Howland, the trafﬁc into Komara Jewelers “hasn’t been what I’d like it to be,” says owner Bob Komara, but customers are still drawn to the stores by the Simon G and the Hearts on Fire lines. Thom Duma Fine Jewelers, Warren, had to court the Rolex brand six months before it was named an authorized dealer. Despite a rough ﬁrst quarter, the Swiss watch remains one of the best-selling products in his store, says its president, Thomas Duma. Duma’s father, Thomas Duma Sr., opened the store in 1977 and the ﬁrst quarter of this year was the worst it’s ever endured, the younger Duma reports. Recession or no, it’s the higher-priced items that move the most. Rolex watches and jewelry from the David Yurman line constitute 40% of the store’s sales and allowed the company to enjoy its best September and October ever, he says. “Because of those two brands and the big followThomas Duma, president of Thom Duma Fine Jewelers, displays a Rolex watch, one of his company’s best-selling lines. ing that those two brands have, they have kept us Engagement rings and wedding bands are also Duma is the only dealer in the Mahoning Valley in a very positive situation,” Duma says. “We feel driving sales; here Duma features the Tacori brand. who carries the Rolex line and is one of three indevery conﬁdent that we’re going to ﬁnish the year in Despite the economy, “people are still falling in pendent dealers in Ohio to carry Yurman. Similarly, the positive.” love,” says Duma, who attributes the strong bridal Komara Jewelers is one of 700 retailers worldwide Getting those brands in the store wasn’t easy. sales to the fact that the average age of those getting that carries the Hearts on Fire line and is also a dealer Duma tried to bring in Rolex in the 1990s after his engaged is 29, up from 21 some 15 years ago. Men of Simon G jewelry and Movado watches. father renovated the store, but “they came in, looked who propose are more established in their jobs and Billed as the “World’s Most Perfectly Cut Diaat the store, and said ‘no thanks,’ ” Duma recalls. are saving money for the purchase. The average cost mond,” Hearts on Fire jewelry is “ahead of the rest In 2002, the store underwent a second renovaof an engagement ring at Thom Duma is $5,000 for of the industry,” Komara says. Companies that have tion to match its new business model that focused a one-carat diamond. designers on staff typically charge more for their on more high-end products from dealers who favor Duma has noticed merchandise than manufacturers that craft their tight distribution rather pieces based on popular styles, he says. Designer than saturating the mar- Duma has noticed more couples coming in more couples coming in to shop and price engagepieces, such as Hearts on Fire, are about 20% to 30% ket with merchandise. to shop and price engagement rings. When ment rings. When the more expensive than the traditional diamond. That year, Duma applied “It’s a difference you can actually see between that for both Rolex and Yur- the shop opened in the 1980s only men did shop opened in the 1980s only men did such shopand a traditional diamond,” Komara explains. “Like man, and landed the Rolex such shopping. ping. The Internet also anything else, if it catches on and sells, everybody partnership in June 2003. plays a crucial role in the store’s overall sales since tries to copy it.” Duma didn’t have the Yurman line in his showcase brands such as Tacori, Rolex and Yurman can’t be Yellow gold is losing popularity to white gold, until September 2007, he says. bought online. That may be but customers window which makes up nearly 90% of Komara’s gold inAs the demand for jewelry for special occashop the pieces on the brands’ Web sites where they ventory, he says. The market is strong for women sions decreases, the Yurman line is “perfect for this are directed to the nearest authorized dealers. “starting a whole new wardrobe in white gold, but economy” because of its versatility and subtle but “We get a lot of business that way too,” Duma is close to nonexistent” with men, who have more identifiable corded design, Duma says. Yurman says. “People come in asking me for Rolex. They conservative tastes in their jewelry, he says. pieces are suitable for grocery shopping and a night drive the business through the door.” out on the town. See EXCLUSIVE LINES, page 28

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

The Business Journal

Exclusive Lines: From Page 27 With gold hovering around $1,100 per ounce in October and November, jewelers have been forced to raise prices on their pieces containing gold if they want to survive the recession. Jewelers pay twice as much for pieces that are predominantly gold, and replacing a piece in the showcase usually means buying it for what it sold for, Komara says. “In our industry, you can’t eat it. You have to move it,” Komara says. “If it’s a piece I know I’ll be replacing, I have to make money on it.” While Komara expects some higher-priced items to move during the holidays, the company also offers some lines to accommodate shoppers in all price ranges. One of the most popular trends is the sterling silver Pandora charm bracelet, says Komara’s son, Rob Komara, assistant manager at the Howland store. Beads for the bracelets are priced from $25 up to $200 for beads that have some gold in them. Pandora also makes stackable rings and earrings with replaceable beads, he says. “It’s a very hot trend that’s going on right now,” Komara says. “Everybody is catching on to it because there’s probably about four or ﬁve different companies that make the same exact similar beads.” Komara didn’t sell sterling silver until 2006, he says, but “you need things to sell for $50, $100 and $200.” The Elle jewelry line is “very fashionable and inexpensive,” starting at $50 for some items, Komara says, and can be identiﬁed by the trademark ruby on the side.

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Robert “Rob” Komara Jr. and Robert “Bob” Komara Sr. display pieces from the Elle and Hearts on Fire lines.

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

Artwork to Wear Creates One-of-a-Kind Jewelry Two new lines designed for mass production to debut nationwide next spring. By Maraline Kubik

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ood things come in small packages. Great things come in small packages from small towns. Case in point: Artwork to Wear, a jewelry studio in Cortland that specializes in custom-made and one-of-a-kind pieces that feature the best diamonds, gemstones, pearls and precious metals available in the world. “Everything is natural. Nothing is synthetic and we stand behind everything that goes out of this building,” says Nancy Williams, who founded the business more than 20 years ago and co-owns it with her husband, Reed. Among the most notable custom pieces she’s made is a ring commissioned for Bishop Ruth Urban of the All Nations Anglican Church to mark her consecration as bishop last December. The ring features a purple amethyst, a descending dove and crosier, and three diamonds that represent the Holy Trinity. Another is a gold and diamond ring made for a woman whose husband had recently died. The rings he’d given her, along with those she’d inherited from her mother were of great sentimental value, Nancy Williams says, but she didn’t wear them. “You only need one diamond ring,” Williams explains. So, Williams combined the components from all of the rings – white gold, yellow gold and several diamonds – and created an impressive, one-of-akind work of art that the woman wears on her index ﬁnger. “Jewelry signiﬁes a lot of major things in women’s lives and in children’s lives – especially the birth of a child or anniversary. It’s a celebration of love and it’s a very powerful thing when a man takes the time to think about the woman in his life and give her something that is truly valuable,” Williams says. “The same with giving gifts to mark a daughter’s 16th, 18th birthday, graduation from college, from mothers to daughters and from fathers to daughters. Those are all very important pieces,” she says. “They mean a lot for a lifetime. That’s why the things you inherit end up being very important. But it doesn’t mean that you can wear them in that shape,” she says. “We help you restyle it and put it in a form you’d like to wear.” Williams says she and her husband also encourage their customers not to sell their gold. With prices of precious metals hovering at near-record highs, many companies are eager to buy old and broken jewelry and too many owners sell their unwearable pieces at bargain prices. Instead, Williams recommends, “They rework it. Then they have something that’s truly valuable and also sentimental. There’s a

Nancy Williams sets diamonds in a gold ring at her workshop in Cortland. Jewelry design and manufacturing is done onsite.

lot they can do with it and they’ve provided some of the most important – and most expensive – parts to a ring, or earrings, or a pendant.” Until ﬁve years ago, Artwork to Wear was a byappointment-only enterprise, with a loyal following of repeat customers and new customers learning about the jewelry design studio through word of mouth. “Everyone’s jewelry is important and we really pride ourselves on the service and quality that we provide this community,” Williams stresses. That service along with the unusual bench skills she offers – including custom waxing that yields one-of-a-kind pieces and appraisals for pieces valued at up to $125,000 – has fueled solid growth of the business. Today, Artwork to Wear operates a posh jewelry showroom with cases full of unique pieces made onsite as well as a line of titanium men’s jewelry from Edward Mirell and watches from Tavannes and Alfex. “Men who thought they would never wear jewelry, they like the Edward Mirell line because it’s

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really state-of-the-art,” Williams says. “It’s cuttingedge technology. It’s really just sharp.” Tavannes watches rival Rolex, she continues, and the Alfex line, which starts at $200 and is very well known in Europe, has won several international awards for design and engineering. Among the many showcases full of one-of-a-kind pieces is a selection of pearls Williams describes as “gorgeous.” They include a strand of colorful Tahitian pearls priced at more than $4,000. Another strand of Tahitian pearls that Williams describes as “a beautiful multi-color strand of round, graduated pearls” not yet on display is priced about $18,000. A strand of South Sea pearls with rosé overtones that she describes as “truly spectacular” is tagged at $25,000. The sizes and colors of pearls are unique to the part of the world where they were farmed, Williams explains, and quality pearls have many, many layers. In another case, a strand of natural black diamonds glistens. The necklace, 50-carat total weight, is tagged at $6,500. Other one-of-a-kinds feature blue diamonds, black onyx, citrine, lapis lazuli and amethyst. There are also pendants and gold beads that See ARTWORK TO WEAR, page 30

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Artwork to Wear: Creates One-of-a-Kind Jewelry From Page 29 Williams waxed and cast, earrings and bracelets featuring a wide range of stones and pearls in unique combinations. “Custom work, that’s the lifeblood of this business,” Reed Williams says, reﬂecting on the niche Artwork to Wear ﬁlls. “The custom work is our ﬁrst love. Having people select a stone, designing the work around that stone – we really enjoy designing for people. They give us an idea and we design it for them.” All diamonds sold at Art Work to Wear include lab reports and appraisals. “We’re different than most stores,” he continues. “We have a very unique line because most of it, we’ve had a hand on.” The couple, however, has decided to expand their customer base by also creating jewelry suitable for mass production. “Nancy came up with an idea for two new lines that we’re taking national. They’re in production now to be launched in the spring,” Reed Williams says. The ﬁrst line, Honey, Hunk, Hero, is primarily a men’s line. “Everybody seems to have a honey, a hunk or a hero in their life. It can be your brother. It can be your husband. It can be your father, your grandfather. There are some wonderful guys out there and it’s nice to say, ‘Honey, you’re my honey.’ Or, ‘You’re my hero,’ ” Nancy Williams explains. Sweet Lips is a line of lip-shaped pendants, earrings and pins for women, and lapel pins, tie tacs and cufﬂinks for men. The lips resemble Artwork to Wear’s logo and enable the gift giver “to plant a kiss that will last forever” on the recipient. “A lot of men, if they’re wearing a Sweet Lips, get a lot of attention from that,” Nancy Williams continues. “And they can feel loved all day.” While the couple is still working out the details for the distribution of their two new couture jewelry lines, Reed Williams says the goal is to make them available in “higher-end and boutique-type stores as well as independent jewelry stores across the country.” Of course, he adds, they will also be available at Artwork to Wear and through the design studio’s Web site, artworktowear.com. “The originals come out of Artwork to Wear here

Artwork to Wear Made in the Valley Products: Custom-made and one-of-a-kind jewelry. Sweet Lips and Honey, Hunk, Hero lines of jewelry for mass production will make their debut nationwide next spring. Founder: Nancy Williams.

in Cortland, and we’re really happy about that – all the waxing, the casting, the design,” Nancy Williams reports. “For mass production, we’re not quite set up for that yet, so the masters and production, which can be in lines of up to 1,000, are being done somewhere else.” It’s unclear if production of the Sweet Lips and Honey, Hunk, Hero lines will eventually be moved to Cortland, she says. “It depends on the future. But,” she vows, “Artwork to Wear is not leaving this area.

Our friends and our families are here. Our clientele’s base is here – that has supported our dreams and this business. A lot can come out of small places.” All of the studio’s custom and one-of-a-kind pieces, she adds, will continue to be designed and manufactured in Cortland. During December, Artwork to Wear’s showroom is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

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Year Founded: 1982. Design and Manufacturing: Cortland, Ohio. Geographic Area Served: United States.

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Source: Artwork to Wear

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

Jewelers Make New Pieces from Old Gold By Jeremy Lydic

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hether turning jewelry they never wear into pieces more to their liking or cash in their pockets, people are ﬁnding uses for their old gold. From November 2008 through last month, Ace Diamond & Jewelry Brokers Inc. in Boardman made 2,527 over-the-counter purchases that totaled $750,000, says its president, Jim Eckman. When gold hit $1,000 an ounce in March 2008, Ace recorded 4,200 purchases from then until February 2009 for a total of $1.6 million. Although numbers have dropped somewhat, Eckman says his company is still tracking three times its normal volume. “Everybody coast to coast that buys scrap gold was just inundated,” Eckman says. “It made all the national news.” When a customer brings in a piece to sell, Ace weighs the gold and offers a price based on quality and that day’s market price of gold, Eckman says. Customers vary from suburban residents to smallbusiness owners and workers who have either had their hours cut or been furloughed, and payouts have been as low as $20 and as high as $10,000. “This is a great time for it to be high,” Eckman says. “It’s bailed a lot of people out.” While some pieces can be resold in the store, customers typically bring in broken, out-of-style

or no-longer-worn jewelry, which is sent to a reﬁnery and “gets fully recycled and made into new product,” Eckman says. A majority of reﬁneries pay 98% of the melt to the jeweler, with 80% going to the customer. Gemstones are removed from the piece before it’s shipped to the reﬁnery and saved by the jeweler for repair work or to create a new piece, Eckman says. Because of the surge in people selling their jewelry, companies such as Ace have an abundance of small cut stones. Ace has about a ﬁve-year supply of such stones, he says. “It got to the point where I think everybody that buys over-the-counter nationwide is swimming in diamond melees and colored stones,” Eckman says. “Those things aren’t liquid like gold. You need an end retail consumer who wants it, and has the money to buy it.” Jeres Achkar usually advises his customers to hang on to pieces rather than sell them. Achkar, owner of Achkar Jewelers & Manufacturers Inc., Boardman, for 60 years, says customers sometimes don’t know the full value of a piece they have. He once refused to melt down a platinum broach that was handmade in the early 1900s. “You really hate to destroy something like that,” Achkar says. “Even if it’s small pieces, I always suggest to keep the gold.” Achkar usually buys gold only for repair work

or to make a custom piece, he says. Remodeling old wedding rings for new wedding bands or crosses are the most popular projects. The cost of the ﬁnal product depends on the labor and the design, but when customers supply the gold and stones, “it will be a lot cheaper than buying a new one.” Research by Jewelers of America – a trade organization based in New York – shows that custom and designer jewelers reported the smallest sales decrease from 2007 to 2008 at 0.8%, says spokeswoman Amanda Gizzi. Chain retailers reported the biggest drop in sales in 2008 at 13.2%, followed by midsize independent retailers at 5.5% and small independent retailers at 1.3%. Custom jewelry takes up a smaller portion of the market, Gizzi says, but “seeing it decrease the least is probably a new trend for this year.” People willing to spend the money on a new piece of jewelry are making sure their purchase has monetary and sentimental long-term value, she says. “Jewelry is always a sentimental purchase,” Gizzi says. “But when it’s made just for you and is one-of-a-kind, it adds a little more sentimental attachment.” In addition to an increase in demand for custom pieces made from old jewelry, Doug Aebischer, owner of Aebischer’s Jewelry in Poland, has noticed See OLD GOLD, page 32

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Old Gold: New Pieces From Page 31 his repair and restoration business has gone up at least 25%, he says. Aebischer will take in old jewelry to offset the price of a new piece, which helps sales, but “it’s still been a tough year,” he says. Aebischer typically buys most of his inventory from manufacturers, so his costs “have gone up tremendously” with the rising cost of gold. Some pieces in his shop have “just about doubled [in price],” he says. “It’s a direct reﬂection of my inventory costs.” Each week he sees customers bring old jewelry into the store, hoping to sell it, 10% of which is gold, Aebischer says. The sale of gold is “somewhat linked to the big picture,” says Greg Sorley, co-owner of McSorley’s in Canﬁeld. “When the dollar declines, generally gold strengthens,” so people sell what they’re willing to part with, he says. While he hasn’t spoken with a reﬁnery recently, his colleagues that buy gold tell him it’s still coming in but not as quickly as it did a year ago. Although customers don’t seem to be selling as much in this area anymore, Sorley doesn’t think it’s over. “Gold is basically blowing through the roof as we speak,” Sorley says. “I can’t ﬁgure out what’s driving it right now.” As with other shops, Sorley’s purchase of gold from customers is limited to trade-in on a new item or making a custom piece. McSorley’s designs the piece and sets the stone, but the casting is done elsewhere. “Generally, you will receive a lot higher quality piece that lasts a lifetime or two,” he remarks.

Corine McGuire, Jim Eckman and Julie Norris of Ace Diamond & Jewelry Brokers Inc., Boardman, display new pieces made from old gold. From November 2008 through last month, th jeweler made 2,527 over-the-counter purchases that totaled $750,000.

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

Gillespie Takes Helm of Neighborhood Corp. Former banker wants to have a greater effect improving urban life than channeling money. By Dennis LaRue

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irst was the vision, then the planning and soon – the execution of that vision and planning more than a decade in discussion and shaping. Introduced to business and community leaders Nov. 4, the newly named executive director of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., Presley Gillespie, outlined how he, in cooperation with the city of Youngstown and Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative, intends to deliver on the promise of Youngstown 2010. Gillespie, a veteran banker who, over the last decade, has lent millions of his banks’ money toward the economic redevelopment of Youngstown and Warren began, “I decided a long time ago I didn’t want to be just another banker” who channeled funds toward inner city businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs to satisfy Community Redevelopment Act criteria. Hence, when the search committee of the neighborhood development group approached him, he determined he could have a greater effect improving urban life in that role than as a banker. The wheels were set in motion, Gillespie recalled, when a community block watch leader, James London, remarked, “It was easier to buy drugs on the south side of Youngstown than a fresh tomato.” So, one aspect of the mission of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. is to help residents of the Idora neighborhood plant gardens that will provide them with more healthful diets at prices they can afford. Idora, on the city’s southwest side, is one of three neighborhoods where the corporation will exert most of its initial efforts. The agency, funded with both public- and private-sector dollars, will adopt a “holistic approach,” Gillespie said, one that seeks to “empower residents to rebuild their communities.” Seeing that residents have affordable housing, helping them repair and restore their residences, creating “vibrant neighborhoods with green spaces,” establishing “smaller but safer neighborhoods [and]

Presley Gillespie, executive director of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., discusses plans to deliver on the promise of Youngstown 2010 with Gordon Wean. One of the goals in the Idora neighborhood is to help residents plant gardens.

neighborhoods where people to choose to live and are proud to live there,” “strengthening the social fabric through greater involvement” – all are within reach, Gillespie declared, with the development corporation acting as a catalyst. As the city’s leaders and residents came to realize during the drafting of Youngstown 2010, “Youngstown will never again have 175,000 residents,” Gillespie reminded the 100 or so who attended the reception at the Youngstown Club to honor him. And the infrastructure built for a city of 200,000 turned out to be unnecessary and “the manufacturing base as we knew it is gone.” The “good news,” he said, “is we still have signiﬁcant assets to build upon” to sustain and improve the quality of life.” The corporation will make “tough decisions,” Gillespie assured his wellwishers. Despite the generosity of the Raymond John Wean Foundation and support from City Council, Gillespie and his board will set priorities on which neighborhoods will have their focus. There are three. Those with the greatest chance of recovery will be accorded the most resources. “No one size ﬁts all,” Gillespie noted, and the agency is more concerned

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with “outcomes, not outputs.” Now that the challenges facing Youngstown have been deﬁned and Youngstown 2010 has provided a plan most have bought into to overcome these challenges, Gillespie expects both residents and visitors to see noticeable and steady progress, including reclaiming the 22,000 vacant lots that dot the city. They can be transformed into parks and gardens and made parts of pedestrian paths and bikeways. Gillespie said he intends to make the neighborhoods clean, safe, and places where residents are neighbors, not people turned inward, who come together to work on resolving their problems. In his remarks, director of the city planning department, Bill D’Avignon, said, “We need the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to move forward. We have taken all the necessary steps to get where we need to be.” The long-time civil servant recalled that it was Chattanooga, Tenn., that Youngstown planners approached in the mid 1990s as a possible model to reverse the decline. “Chattanooga, Tenn., called us two weeks ago,” he reported, for insights on “smart decline. We [Youngstown] are the new leaders,” D’Avignon said.

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The Business Journal

Y

ou know the drill: Every time you visit a retail store, supermarket or pharmacy, you’re asked if you have one of their “rewards” cards. If you don’t, the helpful sales folks happily offer to sign you up on the spot. Signing up may not be a bad idea. Most of these cards offer some type of beneﬁts for “membership” – from discounts on future purchases to special just-for-you deals to coupons you can spend just like cash. At a time when everybody’s looking to save a few bucks, a little extra boost can be welcome. Over the last few years, our search team has accumulated quite a number of loyalty cards; in fact, we’ve had to pack them up in a special holder because our wallets had become grossly over-stuffed. Still other miniature versions dangle from our keychains, always at the ready for checkout counter scanning. Since they’re such a huge part of everyday life, we decided to report on a few that we use most often. First, though, we’ll remind our readers that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Before you can reap any beneﬁts, you have to spend money – so you’ll be tempted to buy things you otherwise might not (or should not). What’s more, in exchange for these sweet deals, you’ll be giving up some measure of privacy. Every time a loyalty card is swiped, information is entered into the store’s system on your shopping preferences, how much you spend and how often. And sometimes, the rewards you’ll get by using a card aren’t worth what you have to pay to earn them. If you have to spend $100 just to get a coupon worth 10% off the regular price of an item, why bother?

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e’re both voracious readers, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’ve had a rewards card at Borders for at least as long as the bookstore has been in the Eastwood Mall complex. The card also works at Waldenbooks (which has a store in the Eastwood Mall proper) as well as at Borders Express and Borders.com. The basic plan is fairly straightforward: Earn $5 in Borders Bucks for every $150 spent on qualifying items. (Sounds like a lot until you consider that one hardcover book costs at least $25.) Sure, we can beat these prices at Amazon.com or through our book clubs, but at Borders we don’t have to wait several days for our purchase to arrive before we can start reading. While some items don’t qualify for points – such as gift wrapping paper and gift cards – purchases at Borders’ in-store cafés do. We also receive frequent e-mail coupons for other discounts, such as 30% off the regular price of a book or CD. Rewards Realities: Along the way, we’ve learned a few tricks of the trade that we’ll pass on to you. Most important is to read the store’s privacy policy before you sign on the dotted line. We don’t take issue with the retailer collecting information so we can receive more personalized offers; but we do object when that information will be “shared with our partners from time to time” – a euphemism for “Yes, we sell or give out your information to others, and you don’t get to choose who they are.”

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

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raveling is high on our list of favorite things to do, as regular readers of this feature well know, but if we weren’t always looking for ways to save a buck, we wouldn’t go much of anywhere. Through our membership in Choice Hotels International Choice Privileges rewards program, we ﬁgure we’ve saved a bundle. Points are earned in several ways, including stays at Choice hotels such as Comfort and Quality inns, booking rental cars and shopping at the Choice Privileges online mall that features more than 60 retailers. The points can then be exchanged for free nights at more than 5,500 hotel locations worldwide with no blackout dates or other cool stuff such as airline miles, Broadway show tickets, music downloads and even donations to a number of charities. The only thing that’s important to us, though, is free lodging; over the last half-dozen years or so, we’ve earned at least a dozen stays, allowing us to take one night mini-trips we otherwise wouldn’t have considered or add an extra day to a longer vacation. Rewards Realities: When you sign up for a loyalty program, never provide your primary e-mail address. Instead, use a “throw-away” address you’ve reserved just for this purpose (and perhaps shopping online). Don’t have one? Try Yahoo. com, Gmail (mail. google.com) or Lycos (mail.lycos. com).

In Search of:

Loyalty Cards

By Monnie Ryan

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ost of the big drugstore chains offer loyalty cards, and we’ve been members of the CVS ExtraCare customer rewards program for several years. Since these big-boxes carry a wide variety of everyday goodies – greeting cards, laundry detergent and even some food items – it’s not hard to ﬁnd good deals well beyond pharmaceutical and health-related items. At CVS, we earn Extra Bucks for in-store and online purchases and get instant savings on items featured in the weekly circular ads. Although thankfully we rarely need them, we would earn one buck for every two prescriptions we buy. At checkout, the cash register spits out not only the usual receipt for what we bought, but also other special discounts on future purchases (all

targeted to our buying preferences, of course) and a listing of our Extra Bucks total that may include incentives such as $2 off our next purchase of $10 at the store. Rewards Realities: Offers tend to come with expiration dates, so check often to make sure you don’t lose out. We’ve even started marking due dates on a calendar for offers we really want to take advantage of.

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ne member of our search team is always looking for electronic gadgets, and the other is somewhat ﬁxated on digital cameras and accessories. No surprise, then, that we have loyalty cards at Best Buy and Staples. With Best Buy’s Reward Zone card, we earn one point for almost every dollar we spend in the store or online. As with Borders, Best Buy also has an online mall where you can earn points by shopping at hundreds of online retailers. Accumulating 250 points translates into a $5 reward certiﬁcate, which can be spent like cash at Best Buy. If you prefer, you can set a higher limit – say, $20 or $50 – so your certiﬁcate won’t be sent to you until you earn the required number of points. The program at Staples comes with a bit of a twist; you’ll earn 10% in rewards on all ink and toner, case and ream paper and for Copy & Print Center services. Environmentalists will be interested to know that recycling any brand of ink cartridge will earn $3 in rewards per cartridge. There’s a limit of 10 per customer per month. Rewards Realities: Resist temptation. When you reap your rewards, try not to wander off and buy other items unless you really want or need them. Better still, consider redeeming your rewards online, where you don’t have to walk past hampers of multi-colored highlighters.

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ime was when we saved money on groceries by heading for the big discount chains – prices at supermarkets simply were too expensive. No more – at least not since we found Giant Eagle and the Giant Eagle Advantage Card. Not only can we get great deals in the store on items we want, but our purchases earn discounts – 10 cents per gallon for every $50 we spend – on gasoline at the store’s GetGo stations. In addition to food and sundry items, Giant Eagle sells gift cards from a number of retailers, all of which count toward future gas discounts under the Fuelperks program. Since gift cards are popular items for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, we can buy them at Giant Eagle and save at the pump at the same time. Here’s an example of a recent deal: We snagged a package of two U.S.D.A. Choice beef bottom round steaks for $7.14, then got a second package free by using our Advantage Card. Each steak was large enough to divide into two good-size portions (which we repackaged and stuck in our freezer), giving us the basis of four meals for well under $10. Rewards Realities: Don’t leave home without it. But if you do end up at a store without your loyalty card, don’t despair – just ask the sales clerk to check for you. Almost all stores can verify your card by typing your phone number into the cash register, so you’ll get credit for your purchases.

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Looking for Work: These Are Their Stories From Page 1 prises, the latest for a subcontractor to General Motors Co. at Lordstown.

Few Openings for Mechanical Engineers Wheeler experienced the irony of leaving his former employer of 29 years to work for the Munroe plant in Campbell, where he was employed a year before being laid off. He left his long-time employer “out of concern about [its] ﬁnancial problems,” he says. “But it’s still hanging in there.” Munroe Inc., based in Pittsburgh, closed its plants in Ringgold, Ga., and Ambridge, Pa., and laid off some 15 employees at its plant in Campbell, Wheeler says, leaving 40. In Campbell, Munroe builds hoods over industrial furnaces, especially in the steel industry, that redirect exhaust gases. Munroe also builds cooling panels for power plants. (Calls to Munroe in Pittsburgh to confirm Wheeler’s comments about its business were not returned.) The recession took a toll on Munroe, Wheeler says, with many employees in the Campbell plant taking cuts in salary six months before the layoff notices came. The reduced compensation left him earning $15 an hour, he says. Wheeler, who received a B.S. in mechanical engineering technology in 1991 from Youngstown State University, liked the work in Campbell because “Munroe was more hands-on.” He wanted to be involved in the work on the plant ﬂoor, he says, “not sit behind a computer all day. I wanted to do both. ... I was doing what I had gone to school for.” In his job search, Wheeler has come across few Jon Wheeler takes a break from his job search to spend some openings for mechanical engineers. Most of the detime with his dog. He and his wife have always lived simply. mand, he says, is for civil and electrical engineers. Hence he’s giving serious consideration to returnThey also planted a garden in their backyard last ing to YSU to work for a master’s in civil engineering. summer. “It didn’t do so well,” Wheeler laments. First, however, he must take some undergraduate “The soil in my yard doesn’t hold moisture and there courses in civil engineering and mathematics to be was a lime deﬁciency in the soil.” admitted, 12 semester hours, he estimates. Thus The issuers of the student loans his wife took out entering a master’s program couldn’t start before are accepting interest-only payments. “They’re OK next fall and would be contingent on whether he with that,” Wheeler reports. All of their credit cards can obtain ﬁnancial aid. have been paid off. His wife, Mary, who works part-time and is a Before shopping, the Wheelers “combine trips part-time student at YSU, is in her third semester of before going to the store.” work toward an associate’s They’ve cut back to degree in accounting. By Wheeler’s faith has sustained him, he says. the minimum on telenext spring, one or both phone, cable television should qualify for a grant, He and his wife attend the First Methodist and Internet services. “I Church of Sharon; Mary just rejoined the still have Internet access Wheeler says. The couple has always choir. “God always helped us to get through as part of my job search,” lived simply and managed explains. The whatever difﬁculty we had,” Wheeler says. Wheeler their ﬁnances prudently, couple “shut down the Wheeler says. Their chil- “We’re just hoping he shows us [the way] hot tub because of the cost dren – a daughter, 28, again.” of electricity.” They also and a son, 25 – are both allowed memberships in married and on their own. various hunting and outdoors clubs to lapse rather The Wheelers have a 30-year mortgage on their than pay the dues. home and are current on their payments, the engiWheeler has gone to a small number of job interneer says. He owns his car outright and the loan on views and found “companies have such an advanMary Wheeler’s car will be paid off in 18 months. tage” because supply far exceeds demand. “Some are “So far we have been able to repay everything looking for doctorates,” he found. “Many companies [and as scheduled],” Wheeler says. “It’s been tight are looking for [engineers with] masters.” but we’re making it.” After he interviewed with the president of one The Wheelers “used to go out to eat more. Now company, he was asked to follow up with a psychowe save it for special occasions.” They used to keep logical test, a twist that surprised him. several birdfeeders in their backyard ﬁlled with The ﬁrst week or two of unemployment, “I enfeed. No more. joyed being off,” he allows. It’s been a drag since,

he admits, but makes it a point to stay upbeat. “My wife comments all the time, ‘How do you keep so positive?’ ” he continues. He gets up at 6:30, sometimes 7, which he considers sleeping in since he rose at 5 a.m. to work at Munroe. While Wheeler spends much of his time responding to ads, sending his resume out on the Internet and following leads, “I help around the house,” he says. “I can’t sit in front of my computer all day long. I do stuff around the house that she [Mary] had been doing. His unemployment beneﬁts will run out soon, Wheeler says, and he has submitted a letter in which he applied for extended federal beneﬁts – “if I qualify.” Mary’s income is their only other source of income and “It will be very difﬁcult if I don’t qualify,” her husband says. If he doesn’t ﬁnd work soon, he “will have to take whatever job is available.” He would work for a department store or in a fast-food restaurant. “I may end up having to take several small jobs to get by.” Wheeler grew up in Brookﬁeld and would prefer to stay here. “I’m willing to relocate,” he answers, “and I keep broadening that area all the time.” That area encompasses as far south as North Carolina and as far west as Indiana. Wheeler’s faith has sustained him, he says. He and his wife attend the First Methodist Church of Sharon; Mary just rejoined the choir. “God always helped us to get through whatever difﬁculty we had,” Wheeler says. “We’re just hoping he shows us [the way] again.”

Unloading Docks, Selling on Commission Daniel A. Gonder, who “always wanted to be a broadcaster,” achieved his dream after working as a TV news cameraman in Pittsburgh. He’s been on-air announcer for Clear Channel stations in the Mahoning Valley – he’s pinch hit for Ron Verb on WKBN-AM and written copy for others to read on air here and in Indiana before he came home. Today he’s selling airtime on a commission-only basis for a radio station in Ashtabula and unloading trucks on the docks behind a big-box store in Boardman. Gonder, who grew up in Sharon, was graduated in 1970 from YSU with a major in advertising and public relations and minors in management and English literature. He remembers well the day in April when Clear Channel Youngstown’s ﬁnances forced it to let go nine employees, including him – after 11 years working for the company. So far this year, he says, Clear Channel has laid off 20. “It was surreal,” Gonder says of April 29. “But I had this sense of relief.” He had been working 50 to 60 hours a week, sometimes paid extra for working remotes and producing Penguins’ football games, but still making a salary of $36,000. “I worked there 10 years and never got a raise,” he says. “Every one, everybody I know was the same.” In retrospect, Gonder says, the signs that his job was in jeopardy were there. Still, “I had no inkling,” he says, when a supervisor called him in and said, “Danny, I’m afraid we’ll have to let you go. ... CONTINUES NEXT PAGE

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

Night of the Soul.’ You learn what you’re supposed to learn and God moves you forward.”

Two Years: 200 Resumes and Applications

Richard T. Johnson and Daniel A. Gonder lost their jobs as the economy began to slip and their industries fell victim to the recession. Johnson is an industrial engineer by education; Gonder is former TV news photographer and radio announcer.

be paid off in ﬁve years, he says. “The ﬁrst three weeks I was laid off, I was physiHis physical recreation is skating – the rink cally sick every day,” he continues. charges only $7 an hour – and “I also write.” He The separation dampened his spirits but not to adds, “I’m an avid reader,” who enjoys visiting the point he considered himself depressed. Some of used-book stores. his former listeners, he says, “called me at home and Gonder describes his girlfriend – he’s never told me they miss me.” married – as “very supportive” of his efforts to ﬁnd Easing the blow a bit was “a generous separation another job in broadcasting. package” that has precluded him applying for unemLike Wheeler, he planted a garden this sumployment beneﬁts – so far – and allowed him to sell mer. Unlike Wheeler, he airtime for a radio station in Ashtabula. He has met “I’m a matter of months from bankruptcy,” enjoyed some success in harvesting “peppers, or exceeded his goals the last two months, he says. Johnson says evenly, no anger or bitterness tomatoes and a whole lot in his voice. “I think we can hold out another of lettuce.” He explains, He began in June. Afternoons he drives year. I’m trying to readjust our mortgage, “I was a gardener before I laid off.” to Ashtabula and calls on trying to work something out,” and hopes wasGonder says, “I buy businesses to sell advertising, ﬁnishing around 5 the government program that would provide very little” and when he does shop, “it’s at Marc’s p.m. “Sales are like a sine mortgage relief comes to pass. [and] Amish grocery wave,” Gonder has found. stores in Ashtabula.” His early-morning job “pays for The evening he was interviewed he felt good that the gas – $150 a week on average” that he consumes he had sold $1,400 that afternoon. “I enjoy sales,” driving to Ashtabula and making sales calls. he states. His one unexpected major expense since he was Three or four days a week Gonder, who lives laid off was the bill for the brain surgery a veterinarby himself, gets up at 3 a.m. so he can report to ian performed on the youngest of his three Siberian the docks of the big-box store where he unloads huskies. merchandise from 4 to 9 a.m. The positive side, he Like Wheeler and Johnson, Gonder ﬁnds his notes, is dropping 30 pounds from his frame of 5 faith a source of support and comfort. Gonder, a feet, 9 inches to a trim 170 pounds. member of St. Charles Parish, says, “I just hope His ﬁnances are relatively healthy. Gonder’s car there’s a reason [for his situation]. St. John of the is paid for and his mortgage – which he reﬁnanced Cross [1542-91] talks [about purpose] in ‘The Dark twice to reduce the rate of interest and term – will

Richard T. Johnson, an industrial engineer by education, accepted his last job in September 2008 with Trumbull Industries, a subcontractor to GM’s metals fabricating plant at Lordstown, knowing he was to ﬁll in for a woman on maternity leave. The woman was carrying twins, which caused her employer to suggest the temporary assignment would likely be permanent; the employer expected her need to look after her twins would prompt her to stay at home to tend her children. But the ailing economy led the woman and her husband to decide she should remain with Trumbull’s MMS division, Johnson relates, and arrange for child care, especially since “her husband’s job was shaky. So she came back in March.” When Johnson’s employer of 29 years, AeroChem Inc., was acquired by Tri-Dim Filter Corp. in 2007, he and other veteran employees found themselves without jobs and he’s worked full-time in limited assignments since. Aero-Chem gave him a severance package of six month’s salary, roughly a week for each year worked there, after which he collected unemployment beneﬁts. The post he landed in February 2008 with a company in Mineral Ridge ended because, Johnson related, “Operations came in one day [in July 2008] and said, ‘You’re not making enough money.’ ” While overhead was high, Johnson says, the division, which performed industrial chemical cleaning jobs, remained proﬁtable, but nowhere nearly as proﬁtable as the rest of the company. He was called to jury duty in Mahoning County, which paid him all of $10 during a week he was unemployed. Reporting that income led to a snafu that denied him the week’s unemployment beneﬁts, Johnson relates. His wife, Susan, a retired nurse, is too young to collect Social Security and so the couple, near the end of his eligibility to collect unemployment, has been getting by on his “unemployment beneﬁts and our savings. We live frugally,” Johnson says. They “don’t qualify for food stamps,” he notes. And he’s paying $700 a month for COBRA. “I have a 401(k) and IRAs, but must wait until I’m 59½,” he notes, before he can begin to collect tax-deferred income without incurring a penalty. He continues to visit and respond to the various job-hunting sites on the Internet and has used Ohio One Stop ofﬁces in his search for another job. “I’ve sent out more than 200 resumes and applications since October 2007,” he reports. “Online you get an automated response. So you know it got there. And then nothing. With [the U.S.] mail, you don’t expect a response. He’s aware his age does not work in his favor and his updated resumes lack dates. They’re more broad-brush. For example, he cites “more than 10 years’ experience, not 30 years.” And he’s learned the key phrases that are likely to catch the attention of employers’ search engines as they look for candidates to interview. “It’s been 33 years since I ﬁrst tried to get a job,” Johnson remarks. Of his most recent efforts, he says, “I’m being a lot more selective.” Johnson explored building trades apprenticeSee LOOKING FOR WORK, page 38

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Looking for Work: These Are Their Stories From Page 37 ship programs only to be told he is too old to be accepted. So he’s looking to return to school to learn the air conditioning aspect of HVAC – heating, ventilating and air conditioning. Through One Stop, the state of Ohio will pay for his training, he says. “I’m a matter of months from bankruptcy,” Johnson says evenly, no anger or bitterness in his voice. “I think we can hold out another year. I’m trying to readjust our mortgage, trying to work something out,” and hopes the government program that would provide mortgage relief comes to pass. “I’m a realist,” he states. “There are things you can control and things you can’t. I would add that we’re six months away from catastrophe.” While his three children are grown and he and his wife helped to ﬁnance their college educations, none is in a position to help their parents. The Johnsons took out second mortgages to ﬁnance student loans and have a balance of $12,000 remaining from their youngest son, Scott, who’s in the Air Force. “If I go out and work, I lose my [unemployment] beneﬁts [that exceed what he would earn in] a lowpaying job, Johnson says. “I can’t afford to take just any job. ... I’ve cleaned toilets and installed them. I’m not afraid of work.” He would “take a job that paid $10 an hour” once his beneﬁts expire. “I would do that.” If need be, Johnson would sell the house he built in 1991 and where his children grew to adulthood. “It’s more house than we need,” he says. He repairs the cars he buys at auction. As for growing vegetables in his backyard, “I did the gardening thing. In this area’s it’s not worthwhile. ... I have my tomatoes and my peppers.” He guesses that he broke even with the money and energy exerted. “We never ate out that much to begin with,” he answers to a question about the expenses they’ve reduced, “and the free movie coupons we got have expired. We never used them. ... Our entertainment is going to Wal-Mart and buying a $5 movie [on DVD].” Johnson’s faith “has kept us positive,” he says. “It’s the thing that’s kept us positive. Knowing God in a personal way has really helped us all. It’s all temporary.” At his house of worship, Bethel Friends Church on Spitler Road in Poland, Johnson is “trying to or-

ganize something to help [other] unemployed [such as] ﬁxing up their houses. It gets back to what we’re supposed to be doing anyway.” And he has long volunteered in family and community efforts such as serving a president of the band boosters club when his children were in Springﬁeld High School. “I’ve had so much good happen in my life,” Johnson concludes, which is why he remains optimistic that something will break his way.

Weatherizing and Playing “Mr. Mom” A lack of work at Vivo Brothers, a woodworking shop in Beaver Township, caused the company to lay off half its work force, six of 12, including Jeff Shreiber who specialized in wood moldings, toward the end of June, he says. There just over a year, he was not given any severance. Schreiber, who grew up in Canﬁeld, had returned to the area after a nine-year stint with Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta (now part of Time Warner), where he was a business-systems analyst. “It had the feel of a startup,” Schreiber says, before Ted Turner sold out to Time Warner, and he enjoyed the work. Afterward, “I was doing more management and less of the things that I enjoyed.” He was “single, no dependents and woodworking had been a hobby,” so he took the same woodworking class at night three times at an art college in Atlanta. “It was pretty informal,” he explains, and found he enjoyed the craft. So he quit Time Warner and returned to Canﬁeld where he met his wife, Leslie, in Columbiana. Since being laid off by Vivo Brothers, Schreiber has reﬂected on his situation and decided, “Long-term, I want to get back to the computer world.” Absent 10 years, he realizes, “I need to go back [to school] and get certiﬁcation.” He’s explored information technology schools, including “ITT Tech School and the Mahoning and Columbiana Career & Technical schools.” And Schreiber is “working with One Stop to see if I qualify for ﬁnancial aid, tuition help.” Leslie, a teacher in the Head Start program, was divorced and the mother of two daughters, Hannah and Lauren, when they met. Since their marriage, the Schreibers have had another daughter, Grace, 2. Besides looking for another job, preferably in woodworking, Schreiber has played “Mr. Mom” while his wife teaches. He refuses to be discouraged

after “going around to all the shops in the area. They take my resume, say, ‘Thank you, we’ll be in touch,’ ” and he’s yet to hear from any. He’s expanded his job search to Cleveland and Pittsburgh and used One Stop, which he describes as “somewhat helpful. They have some online tools [that help identify job openings] and they have classes in resume preparation and interview skills.” Finances, always tight, have become tighter. His unemployment beneﬁts run out around Christmas and his wife’s salary and child support would be their sole sources of income. The two houses in Salem he bought to ﬁx up and sell are rented out “because they didn’t sell. I enjoy ﬁxing things. I didn’t want to be a landlord,” Schreiber says. Collecting rents in full and on time is uncertain at best in this economy and while current on those mortgages, “I probably won’t be next month,” he says. He’s keeping his banker abreast of the situation. “It’s a Catch-22,” he remarks. Clouding the picture is the Schreibers’ concern that Leslie’s ﬁrst husband, also unemployed, will seek a reduction in child support payments. So far they’re current in their mortgage payments and both cars are paid for. He works on improving their house and is “weatherizing” it. “I would’ve done it anyway. Now it’s doubly important,” he says. Leslie “has been very understanding” of his situation, Schreiber says. Of the two older girls, “I don’t think it really registers” because they attend their schools of choice with their friends and little has changed other than not eating out at all – it used to be twice a month. “We never had cable,” he adds. “We encourage the girls to read more and have cut back on telephone services.” They still have cell phones and access to the Internet. “We’ve had to tell our daughters ‘no’ on the small things,” he says. The Schreibers use coupons more when they shop for food. Other than that, they haven’t economized much more because they’ve always kept close tabs on their spending. Leslie, who has an associate’s degree, continues to work on her baccalaureate through online distance learning at the University of Cincinnati. She expects to graduate in the spring of 2011, Schreiber says. What’s the buzz? BusinessJournalDaily Buzz – our daily Webcasts coming soon to BusinessJournalDaily.com.

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BuildingBetterBusiness New Law Bans Genetic Discrimination Companies cannot make employment decisions based on family health history.

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ormer President Bush signed into law last May the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, known as GINA. Title II of this law, which addresses employment discrimination, becomes effective Nov. 21. The new law forbids employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of genetic information. Speciﬁcally, GINA prohibits employers from intentionally collecting genetic information from employees or gathering information regarding a person’s family history in relation to a particular disease, among other things. Moreover, GINA imposes strict conﬁdentiality

requirements. It applies to companies with 15 or more employees, provides certain remedies and includes a prohibition on retaliation. GINA contains a provision directing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to implement appropriate regulations one year after the law’s passage. These regulations cover a variety of topics. They include prohibited practices, employer confidentiality obligations, enforcement mechanisms and available remedies, and examples of medical information that GINA does not protect. Speciﬁcally, these regulations make it unlawful for employers to: • Refuse to hire, ﬁre, limit, segregate, classify, or otherwise discriminate, deny opportunities, or withhold training and retraining opportunities based on protected genetic information. • Take adverse employment actions against an employee because he or she has opposed any act

or practice made unlawful under GINA, or made a charge, testiﬁed or participated in an investigation or hearing. • Request, require or purchase genetic information about an employee or his or her family members. There are six enumerated exceptions to the prohibition of acquiring genetic information about applicants and/or employees. For example, inadvertent requests for the genetic information do not violate the new law. Likewise, employers may continue to offer health and genetic services as part of a voluntary wellness program. While some of these provisions may be modiﬁed in light of the public comment period, employers are encouraged to begin to familiarize themselves with the gist of these provisions in advance of Nov. 21, when the new law becomes effective.

Taking the Shine Off Teeth Whitening Scams

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ou don’t need to leave your hometown to have your teeth whitened. Listen to your dentist. He or she has your best interests at heart and is only a phone call away. Buying online is sometimes the only way to get what you want. But buying teeth whitening products online can be a costly mistake. Be extremely wary of By Pat Rose pervasive online ads BBB President offering the promise of a whiter, brighter smile. BBBs across the United States have received a recent onslaught of complaints from consumers who thought they were signing up for a free trial of teeth whitening products but were repeatedly billed for products and services they didn’t want. Ubiquitous ads for teeth whiteners can be found on popular sites such as FoxNews.com, CNN.com and ABCNews.com. The ads typically link consumers to phony blogs and fake news sites designed to look like impartial third-party endorsements of the products. The phony endorsements direct the consumer to a main Web site that promotes the products “as seen on” ABC, Forbes.com, CBS News, CNN, and USA Today – and includes the logos of these news outlets. From the complaints we’ve received, it’s obvious that many consumers are unfortunately letting their

trust in respected news outlets inﬂuence their level of trust in the products being advertised on their Web sites. While it may be true that advertisements for the teeth whiteners were placed on major news Web sites, reporters for USA Today or CNN did not write stories about the efﬁcacy of the speciﬁc products being sold. Web sites for various teeth whitening products claim to offer a no-risk, money-back guarantee, free trial of the product. To sign up, customers must provide a credit or debit card number to cover shipping. Consumers tell the BBB they are billed before their trial ends and continue to be billed after they have told the company they want to cancel. Many also ﬁnd mystery charges for other companies and services that they didn’t realize they were signing up for with their “free” trial. The BBB has identiﬁed several companies behind the ads and Web sites. They include: Dazzle White, White Smile, Teeth Smile and Dazzle Smile: The BBB serving Edmonton has received 450 complaints in the last 12 months from consumers in 47 states, ﬁve Canadian provinces and the United Kingdom about Dazzle White, White Smile, Teeth Smile and Dazzle Smile. Consumers report being billed as much as $79 for the free trial and are charged for several other services – such as a weight loss program. Ivory White: The BBB serving Denver has received 611 complaints from consumers in 46 states. Most say they were charged as much as $78 a month for their free trial. Other related companies include Ortho White and Bella Brite. All three companies

have been asked to add more disclosure to their Web sites regarding the free trial offer. The BBB has not yet received a response to these requests. Advanced Wellness Research: The BBB serving West Palm Beach has received thousands of complaints from consumers regarding Advanced Wellness Research’s açai berry supplements and has begun to receive complaints from consumers about their teeth whiteners sold under the names of Max White, My Whitening, Gleaming White Smile and many others. Here are some tips when dealing with online companies: • Beware of supposed third-party endorsements. Be extremely cautious of any ad that links to a blog or Web site news articles. The blogs and supposed news articles were likely created by the company and are not the unbiased endorsement of real consumers or reporters. • Always read the ﬁne print. Many Web sites offering a free trial of a teeth whitening product do not disclose the billing terms and conditions or do not have such details prominently displayed on their Web site. Before giving the company any credit or debit card information, review the Web site fully and be aware that free trials typically result in repeated billing. • Check the company out with your BBB. Before signing up for any free trial, review the business’ Reliability Report online at BBB.org to see if the BBB has identiﬁed issues with the company. • File a complaint with BBB if you feel you’ve been ripped off. Go to BBB.org.

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TIPS FOR CLIMBING THE CAREER LADDER, COMPILED BY MONNIE RYAN

Getting Ahead

Six Ways to Destroy Your Job Interview Be prepared, ask good questions and don’t be arrogant.

as salary and vacation days should be broached only if the employer has expressed serious interest in hiring you – and that probably won’t happen until the second or third interview. very job candidate wants to Instead, focus on what your speciﬁc impress prospective employers, duties will be or what the top prioribut not all manage to do it. ties are for the position. Often, a simple mistake can cause You might even ask the hiring manan applicant to blow the entire ager to describe what a “typical day” meeting, according to Robert Half for the person who holds the position International. for which you’re Here are some Often, a simple mistake can applying would errors to avoid: be like. • Arriving late. cause an applicant to blow the • Not followGetting to an in- entire meeting. ing up. Even if terview on time or you feel you aced a few minutes early is an easy way to the interview, you shouldn’t stop impress a prospective employer. there. Arriving late not only makes you Sending the hiring manager a look unprofessional, it also calls into brief note after the interview allows question your ability to show up to you to thank him or her for meeting work on time – and that’s one of the with you and gives you the opportumost basic aspects of any job. nity to reiterate your interest in the • Being rude to receptionist or position. assistants. Six out of 10 executives Holiday Hiring Outlook polled by Robert Half say they considBleak, Not Hopeless er their assistants’ opinions important when evaluating potential new hires. Most retailers plan to hire the same Ditch the high-horse attitude and be number of or fewer workers over the polite and respectful to everyone with holidays compared to last year, acwhom you interact. cording to a survey by Aon Consult• Going in unprepared. The saving, Chicago. viest job seekers spend time before Specifically, 44% of the nation’s the meeting considering questions top retailers say they’ll need less help, the hiring manager will likely ask so 37% will keep hiring levels the same they can answer conﬁdently during and 19% plan to hire more than they the meeting. did last year. Research the employer so you can The most important qualities reexplain how your skills match the tailers are looking for in candidates open position and highlight your true this holiday season include customerinterest in the company in general and service skills (83%), a positive attitude the position in particular. (60%) and availability (55%). Retail• Appearing arrogant. Displaying ers say the best candidates come from conﬁdence is important but taking it employee referrals (70%), followed by too far is sure to make you stand out walk-ins (57%). for the wrong reasons. If you boast Not surprisingly, more retailers are about your abilities, it’s likely you’ll hiring a greater percentage of partcome across as someone who may time employees this holiday season have difﬁculty working with others. (77%) compared to last. • Not asking questions. As the As for converting part-time seasoninterview winds down, it’s likely that al employees to full-time status after the hiring manager will ask if you have the holidays, 43% expect to convert any questions. Your answer should the same number as they did last year, be yes. while 42% say they will move fewer But be forewarned: Subjects such holiday hires to full-time.

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Farmers Bank Remodels Its Cornersburg Branch Company spends $250,000 at Meridian Road ofﬁce. By Dan O’Brien

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armers National Bank, Canﬁeld, dedicated its newly renovated branch Nov. 5 at 3619 South Meridian Road in Youngstown, an event its executives say demonstrates the bank’s continued vitality in the midst of rocky economic times. When financial markets nearly melted down 13 months ago, Farmers “actually decided to look at this as an opportunity,” said its chief operating ofﬁcer, John Gulas. Instead of pulling back, Gulas said, Farmers took on new business ventures, launched initiatives designed to boost efﬁciency, stepped in to provide direct loans to auto dealers when the credit markets soured, and made efforts to improve customer service by renovating older branch ofﬁces. “We believe strongly in this community,” Gulas said.

The company spent $250,000 to renovate the façade and interior of the Meridian Road ofﬁce, which encompasses new signage, a drive-through window, a pitched roof and the installation of large columns in the front of the building. Inside are new counters, artwork, ceiling tiles and carpeting. Over the last year, the Cornersburg neighborhood of Youngstown witnessed several ofﬁces of other banks close or relocate, Gulas noted. Farmers, however, wanted to remain at its Meridian Road address and so chose to embark on the renovation project. Work on the branch ended about a month ago. “It’s a much more inviting facility,” Gulas said. The renovated building replaces the modular style building built during the 1970s. The renovation was designed by architect Thomas J. Keller, Canﬁeld. This year Farmers also upgraded 85% of its technology, which improves customer and employee efﬁciency at the branches, he said.

Instead of pulling back in the wake of last year’s near meltdown of the ﬁnancial markets, Farmers National Bank took on new business initiatives, says John Gulas, chief operating ofﬁcer.

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PEOPLE, COMPANIES, MAKING NEWS

For the Record Gasser Chair Co., Youngstown, was recently awarded the casino seating contract for MGM City Center’s Aria Resort & Casino project in Las Vegas. The Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic, Youngstown, is the recent recipient of a $25,000 grant from the Youngstown Foundation to help fund a facility improvement plan for its main campus. A grant also in the amount of $25,000 for the same project was awarded the clinic by The Frank and Pearl E. Gelbman Charitable Trust, administered through Huntington National Trust. Apprentices and journeymen from Local 8 of the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers union recently spent two days helping YouthBuild participants with laying a foundation for a house to be built on the north side of Youngstown. Bodine Perry, a Canﬁeld accounting ﬁrm, presented the Salvation Army with a check for $2,000 at the army’s Christmas drive kickoff breakfast Nov. 4. The ﬁrm also pledged to turn its ofﬁce into a collection center for Christmas gifts to be donated to the Salvation Army. David J. Irwin has been named chief operating ofﬁcer of Gilbert’s Insurance & Consulting, Sharon, Pa. Bradley W. Mantzell has been named vice president.

James M. Gasior has been appointed president and CEO of Cortland Bancorp and its subsidiary, the Cortland Savings and Banking Co. Gasior replaces interim CEO Rodger W. Platt who temporarily came out of retirement to assume the position following the resignation Sept. 8 of Lawrence Fantauzzi. Timothy Carney was named executive vice president. Platt remains director emeritus. Paul Russo, vice president of George A. Mitchell Co., Youngstown, was elected to the board of directors of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International at the group’s annual meeting. Russo will serve a three-year term on the 15-member board. All-Action Restoration of North Lima has retained Farris Marketing of Boardman to create and brand a new Web site for the company. NEOtropolis, a new weekly program looking at regional economic issues, airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on Western Reser ve Public Media PBS 45/49. The Business Journal is a content partner for the program as is Crain’s Cleveland Business. Wendy Kitchen has joined the staff of Aebischer’s Jewelry, Poland, as a customer service representative.

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The Home Savings Charitable Foundation presents a $60,000 check to the United Way of Youngstown/Mahoning Valley. From left are Patrick Bevack, president and CEO, Home Savings; Jeff Grdic, downtown branch sales manager; Sue Stricklin, vice president of marketing; Darlene Pavlock, executive director, Home Savings Charitable Foundation; and Bob Hannon, chief professional ofﬁcer of United Way. “Recognizing the need is greater than ever,” Pavlock said, “we’re especially proud to provide funding with which United Way can assist many worthwhile nonproﬁt organizations in our Valley.”

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Briarﬁeld Manor Unveils $1 Million Expansion By Dan O’Brien

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riarﬁeld Manor, Austintown, presented a new, 3,200-square-foot gym and ﬁtness wing Oct. 26 that stands to enhance the rehabilitation of the Austintown skilled-nursing center’s residents and other patients, principals say. Briarﬁeld administrator Diane Reese, noting a 22% increase in demand, said the project was necessary because of the growing need for short-term rehab services. “We’ve added 18 new skilled-nursing beds here,” she reported, for a total of 116 beds. “Over the years we were unable to admit all of the people who needed or wanted long-term care in our center because we just did not have available beds,” Reese said. And, the former ﬁtness room wasn’t large enough to accommodate growth. Another 36 beds are in the assisted living center at the campus. A.P. O’Horo Co. of Liberty served as the general contractor while Strollo Architects of Youngstown designed the gym. The center is equipped with the latest exercise equipment, such as free weights, an upper-body stationary bicycle on which rehab patients can exercise their arms, a walking path outdoors, and Wii Fit. The video-game system combines exercise with eye-hand coordination on a large screen. Other rehab activities include areas designed to mirror home and community settings that allow patients to practice routine activities such as push-

Diane and Ed Reese say demand for short-term rehabilitation has increased 22% at Briarﬁeld Manor in Austintown.

ing a shopping cart, retrieving items from shelves and doing laundry. Ground was broken in March, noted Reese’s husband, Ed, a Briarﬁeld principal. He said the total investment should approach $1 million. “We have about 150 employees at this location,” he said. “We’ll probably have to hire a few more

[because of the expansion].” State budget cuts in Medicaid reimbursements haven’t helped nursing homes across Ohio, Ed Reese added. For example, nursing homes are now responsible for paying for over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, transportation and oxygen supplies for their residents.

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Employees being misclassified Payrolls that are calculated incorrectly � Credits that are overlooked � Inaccurate experience modification rates

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The Business Journal

BY JEFFREY GITOMER

Sales Savvy Are You Using Power Of First Impression?

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ou have the meeting. The impression and their credibility. In CEO has agreed to give you 30 short, they are giving up their edge, minutes. Do you honestly think their wow. the CEO wants to hear you rant for I don’t get it. 30 minutes? What are you willing to change, First, he or she will most likely deso that when you do get that CEO cide in ﬁve minutes or less if he wants meeting you are ready to make a great to do business with you. Second, ﬁrst impression, a differentiating ﬁrst whatever you’re selling, chances are impression, and earn a sale? he already knows Here are a few Your literature is self-serv- things you can do about it. Now is the time ing, and your business card is that will help: to prepare a greet• Change your somewhere between a joke and title. ing, an opening Make it fun, exchange, and 10 embarrassing. but serious. Proﬁt killer questions Producer. Producthat separate you from the competitivity Expert. Creator of Great Ideas. tion. Are you going to give the CEO • Print your own card. Can’t be any your business card? Or worse, your worse than the one you’re carrying. literature? Use both cards – one for image and You probably believe you have the one to prove creativity. best product or service in the market • Bring a fun idea. One that helps – now tell me your business card is the your prospect. best you have ever seen. And that your • Bring a fun book. Seuss-isms. A literature is the same: best. small book about the big wisdom of Yeah, right. Your literature is selfDr. Seuss. serving, and your business card is • Bring a short classic book. A somewhere between a joke and emthought book. One that makes the barrassing. Certainly not best. CEO think about himself and thank History: I have asked 500 audiences you. The best source for these types of the question, “Which do you think is books is ExecutiveBooks.com a more powerful way for me to make • Write a white paper on safety, all a ﬁrst impression: with my business industry, productivity or leadership. card or an autographed copy of one This will take time and hard work of my books?” They unanimously an– that’s why most salespeople won’t swer, “With your book.” (And keep in do it. But every CEO will appreciate it, mind I have a great business card.) and read it. Make sure you autograph Then I ask, “Which do you think is it as you present it. a more powerful way for me to make • Bring an idea for improving or a business ﬁrst impression: with my enhancing your prospect’s business. brochure or an autographed copy of This takes time, research and creativone of my books?” They unanimously ity, but it will get you in the door, and answer, “With your book.” keep you there. Then that same audience goes out Caution: One of the biggest misthe next day and all introduce themtakes salespeople make is “waiting” selves with a business card and a brofor someone else to give you sales chure. I have given them the answer tools. No, that’s not how great sales to a powerful business introduction, are made. That’s not how you engage and they don’t change a thing. a CEO. Great impressions are made, In their minds they think, “I great sales are made – and made often haven’t written a book,” or “What – with tools you give it to yourself. would I write a book about?” Or they Got tools? think, “This is what my company Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible, gave me, and I’ll wait until they give conducts seminars, sales meetings and me something else,” and drop the training programs. Reach him at 704 333 thought, even though it would make 1112 or at [email protected]. an incredible impact on their first

Building for Our Future The new LEED-certified Williamson College of Business Administration building is scheduled for completion Fall 2010

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

49

HealthUpdate We Are What We Eat Good nutrition is essential to optimum health. By Maraline Kubik

may not be able to afford it,” Fox says, “but they can afford ﬁsh oil capsules.” he old adage “An ounce of Flax and hemp are also good sources prevention is worth a pound of omega-3 fatty acids, she adds. of cure,” is hitting home with Many customers are also interested shoppers at the area’s health food in alternatives to over-the-counter centers. medications, and cosmetics, health While some customers are in and beauty aids that don’t include search of foods that won’t aggrevate hazardous chemicals. food allergies, many others are lookHealth Food Center of Youngstown ing for more healthful alternatives carries a complete line of products to what they ﬁnd in all three areas: on the shelves in “People want to stay healthy. groceries, supplesupermarkets. They’re tired of feeling crum- ments and health Consumers are and beauty, Fox more aware of the my,” Fox says, and they recog- says, estimating hazards to their nize that what they eat has a that sales and ﬂoor health that pesti- direct effect on how they feel. space are evenly cides, herbicides, divided among the antibiotics and growth hormones three areas. commonly found in the food supply Many consumers are also conpose, says Nancy Fox, who owns cerned about the safety of their water, Health Food Center of Youngstown. says Evelyn Wise, president of Living Her parents, Cyril and Jane NickNaturally Health Markets in Boardoloff founded the store in November man and Niles. 1947. Fox and her husband, Ed, Wise opened her ﬁrst health food/ moved it to Boardman in 2003. supplement store, La Vie Naturelle, in Among the most popular items Hubbard in 1980. Some chemicals in treated water are in her store are cleaners that remove poisonous in high concentrations, and chemical residue from fresh fruits and chemicals from the plastic can leach vegetables, “functional foods” that into bottled water, Wise says. “So a lot provide vitamins, nutrients and ﬁber of people are interested in these,” she that are lacking in most Americans’ says, pointing to a selection of BPAdiets, and low-glycemic and glutenfree water bottles. BPA – bisphenol free products suitable for diabetics, A – is an industrial chemical used to individuals who are sensitive to sugar make plastic and epoxy resins that can and those with allergies to wheat. leach into water or food from the con“People want to stay healthy. tainers they’re stored in as the plastic They’re tired of feeling crummy,” Fox breaks down, the result of exposure to says, and they recognize that what extreme or ﬂuctuating temperatures. they eat has a direct effect on how Distilled water is the only water they feel. She estimates that 75% of that is truly pure, because all water her customers come in looking to contains some minerals, Wise says. improve their diets and start slowly, Drinking distilled water, however, maybe buying one thing that is a more may not be the best alternative behealthful alternative to what they’re cause it could draw vital minerals out used to consuming, and it grows from of the body. So, Wise says, she recomthere. mends that those concerned about Interest in preventing illness the safety of their drinking water use through healthful diets and healthier distillers with coral calcium ﬁlters that lifestyles is growing, she says, as is reintroduce minerals into the water interest in supplements – people know after it has been distilled. that fatty ﬁsh such as salmon is a good A model capable of distilling and source of omega-3 fatty acids, which remineralizing 10 gallons of water a are essential to good health but cannot day costs about $3,000, reports Rich be produced by the human body. They Eagle, Wise’s partner since 2000. may not eat salmon regularly, “or they

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Evelyn Wise, president of Living Naturally Health Markets in Boardman and Niles, displays a popular product she says her customers buy “to detoxify.”

Living Naturally also carries a selection of showerheads that ﬁlter impurities from tap water which, if not ﬁltered, could be absorbed through the skin or inhaled during a steamy shower. As for healthful foods, Wise says her stores may be best known for their large selections of bulk items. Living Naturally carries more than 250 bulk food items, everything from nuts, specialty ﬂours, seeds and snack mixes to butter and cheese that are free of bovine growth hormone. Bovine growth hormone, given to cows to increase milk production, has been linked to both breast and prostate cancer in humans, Wise reports, but is widely available to dairy farmers in the United States. The hormone-free bulk cheese available in her stores comes from Ar-

gentina where use of the genetically engineered hormone is prohibited, Wise says. Use of the growth hormone is also banned in Canada and Europe. Many of Wise’s customers are also concerned about GMOs (genetically modiﬁed organisms) that are engineered into corn, soybean and other crops and end up in everything from cereal, bread and pasta to nutrition bars, dairy products and beverages. “If they genetically engineer corn so that it contains a poison that kills pests, how can it be safe for us?” Wise asks. Americans’ busy, proﬁt-driven lifestyles have a negative effect on what we consume too, she says. Wheat is more proﬁtable for farmers to grow and less expensive for consumers to buy than products made from other See HEALTH FOOD, page 50

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Health Food: We Are What We Eat From Page 49 grains, Wise explains. As a result, 55% of the American diet consists of wheat and dairy. Not only are those among the top four foods that elicit allergic reactions – corn and soy are the others – the gluten in wheat can cause problems with digestion and the elimination of waste. “All that stuff sticks like glue in your gut,” Wise says. That increases the levels of toxins in the body, which in turn, contribute to diabetes, high cholesterol, heart conditions and other health problems, she explains. “We dig our graves with our teeth.” Younger people, especially, are becoming more aware of the connection between diet and health and more people than ever are interested in detoxifying. Detoxifying rids the body of chemicals that accumulate in the body as the result of consuming processed foods, Wise says. While minimally processed, organic and free-range foods are often priced higher than their mass-produced counterparts, Wise says that eating more healthful foods costs less “if you factor in medical expenses and the costs of stress” that result from eating poorly. “You have to eat healthy to have optimum health,” she stresses. In addition to a full line of dry goods, supplements and health and beauty items, Living Naturally markets offer refrigerated and frozen items, including organic frozen baby food and locally produced organic beef, fresh organic produce, juice and cider.

Health food markets are not the only retailers cashing in on the growing demand for minimally processed, natural and organic foods. The trend has the attention of large grocery chains too. In 2004, Giant Eagle launched its Nature’s Basket line of corporate brand products “to provide customers healthful value alternatives in the categories of milk, soy milk, cagefree and organic eggs, cereal, cereal bars, corn chips, deli meats and baby food,” reports Erik Yorke, Giant Eagle spokesman. “Rather than seeking out specialty retailers that feature only a specialized selection of niche foods, savvy, health-conscious consumers are increasingly looking for natural and organic options when making regular food purchases at local supermarkets,” Yorke explains. “Giant Eagle has consistently offered and enhanced its wide variety of these products and has seen steady growth in the category.” Among the fresh produce offerings available at Giant Eagle stores – pending the availability of space – are 34 fruits and 71 vegetables, including bagged salad, Yorke reports. Some stores also carry organic beef and poultry, snacks, cereals, teas, juices, soy and rice beverages, dried fruit, granola, nutrition bars, baby food, deli meats, health and beauty items, paper and cleaning products. In the last year, Yorke says, “Nearly half of all Giant Eagle customers have purchased a natural or organic item throughout the store.”

Carolyn Brozic, sales associate at Health Food Center of Youngstown, holds some of her favorite healthful items – açai whole juice concentrate, an omega berry supplement and snack mix.

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Dr. Mohammad Shayesteh says obesity is the foundation for “almost every chronic disease.”

Marcia Levy, registered dietitian, says parents must teach their children to eat healthfully.

Obesity Is More than Being Overweight Heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses are linked to obesity. By Jeremy Lydic

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utritionists and dietitians believe the reason ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease are on the rise is because the health care industry is more concerned with treating the symptom – obesity – rather than the causes of these ailments. Two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, some morbidly obese; 24 million suffer from Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and another 57 million are prediabetic, says Dr. Mohammad Shayesteh, a board certiﬁed nutritionist and diabetes educator. In Ohio, 27.7% of adults struggle with obesity, which is above the national average. Shayesteh, who practices in Boardman, says the health care system is failing because “we have a sick-care system” that focuses on treatment instead of prevention. The ﬁrst step in solving these health issues, he says, is educating the public on what a healthful lifestyle is. “You cannot wait to have a heart attack to change your life,” Shayesteh says. “Most people think that obesity is just a pants-size issue. It’s not. Obesity is truly the foundation for almost every chronic disease we have.” Belly fat contributes most to obesity and related issues, Shayesteh says. The liver uses belly fat to create 85% of the cholesterol in blood and can cause other vital organs to function improperly. Such fat also inhibits the

body from processing sugar properly, from getting to the point where they causing the kidneys to produce more need medications to control high insulin. So, the person ends up with blood pressure. Not needing to take too much insulin in his circulatory these medicines will save parents system, Shayesteh says. New research money immediately and the children shows high levels of insulin cause medical bills when they become inﬂammation in the brain, he says, adults, he says. which leads to the production of a “Dialyzing a diabetic patient every sticky protein called amyloids that week costs $10,000 [a year],” Shayesform plaque in the brain. teh says. “We do not spend $10 to “That’s the No. 1 cause of Alzheimteach that diabetic patient not to reach er’s disease,” Shayesteh says. that level of dialysis. That is the failure When a man’s waist exceeds 40 of the health care system.” inches, he is considered obese and Having a healthful diet is about at greater risk for prostate and colon making good choices, he says. Monicancer, Shayesteh says. For women, toring one’s intake of calories, watchthe benchmark is 35 inches. Most of ing the size of one’s portions and a woman’s fat stays in her lower body ordering smart when eating out is when she’s young, key, he says, as is but moves up afengaging in daily ter menopause, he ‘You cannot wait to have a physical activity. says. Because fat heart attack to change your A true diet isn’t a stores estrogen, life,’ Shayesteh says. ‘Most program, he says, when the fat moves people think that obesity is but a lifestyle. up “it puts them “And it has at a significantly just a pants-size issue. It’s not. nothing to do with higher risk for Obesity is truly the foundation occasion, or locabreast cancer.” for almost every chronic disease tion, or vacation or Children aren’t situation,” Shayeswe have.’ immune to the teh says. “Whatepidemic of obeever goes into our sity. More than 30% of children are mouth, we make that choice.” overweight or obese with some 12 Parents must assume an aggressive million suffering from severe obesity, role in their children’s health, says Shayesteh says. Because of diabetes, he Marcia Levy, registered dietitian and says, for the ﬁrst time in the nation’s nutritionist. Until kids are old enough history, children will not live as long to buy their own groceries, it’s the paras their parents. If a child is obese by ents’ responsibility to keep healthful 20, it cuts as much as 15 years off his foods on hand, she says. That means life expectancy. buying fruits and vegetables instead Before things can get better, Shayesof salty chips and candy bars. teh says, misconceptions about nutri“I’m amazed at how many people tion need to be cleared up through do not eat fruit,” Levy says. “I’m just education. Teaching nutrition at an taking it for granted that everybody early age could prevent most children has at least one piece of fruit a day.

But some people don’t. They’re just not used to eating that way.” Parents must also encourage their kids to go outside and get exercise, Levy says, but as much as it’s their primary responsibility, schools also have a role. Levy would like to see more nutrition classes offered when students can learn about the four food groups and the beneﬁts of exercise. “In the school system, I don’t think they really teach too much nutrition,” Levy says. “And that’s really where that could start.” Having a nutritionist assess students’ lifestyles is one step in putting people on the track to prevent chronic diseases, Levy says. When she received her baccalaureate in diet and nutrition at Youngstown State University and worked on her master’s at Penn State University, Levy was an intern at Northside Hospital. The people she saw there had heart disease and high blood pressure, “so me counseling them was really a little bit too late,” she says. “If I was able to see them beforehand, they may never have gotten to that point,” Levy says. “That’s when I went into private practice.” Levy opened her practice, based in Girard, in 1987. Levy puts together a patient’s meal plan based on diet and activity, and while “no plan is 100% foolproof,” she says, most patients lose weight when given guidance. “Usually, they come back every week because they know they have to be accountable to me,” Levy says. Levy charges $89 the ﬁrst session, which lasts 90 minutes. The second session, which runs a half-hour, is $39, and each visit thereafter is $12. If a patient loses half a pound a week, the $12 visits are reduced to $8.

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Legal Listings Business Bankruptcies CHAPTER 7

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09-44169 Pearl China Inc., 2474 Dresden Ave., East Liverpool 43920. Total Assets: $102,900. Total Liabilities: $222,377.84.

New Ohio Incorporations

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09-44050 Liberty Holding Group LLC, 132 Manchester Ave., Youngstown 44509. Nature of Business: Land holding company. Total Assets: $125,000. Total Liabilities: $468,348.52.

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Hoima Anesthesia Inc., Vienna. Incorporator: Stanley K. Lubinua. Filed by: Hoima Anesthesia, 1804 Avalon Creek Blvd., Vienna 44473. Agent: Stanley K. Lubinua, 1804 Avalon Creek Blvd., Vienna 44473.

Lynkirk Christian Preschool & Day Care, Austintown. Incorporator: Stephanie Easton. Filed by: Michael L. Hoza, 211 S. Main St., Poland 44514. Agent: Stephanie Easton, 4199 Kirk Road, Youngstown 44511.

Newbold Technology Apprenticeship Centers, East Liverpool. Incorporator: Craig Newbold. Filed by: John F. Rasnick, 388 S. Main St., Suite 402, Akron 44311. Agent: Craig Newbold, 114 W. Fifth St., East Liverpool 43920.

The Thomas and Le Eva Kaleel Family Foundation Inc., Canﬁeld. Incorporators: Thomas Kaleel, Le Eva Kaleel. Filed by: The Alpern Law Firm, 103 W. Market St., Warren 44482. Agent: Thomas Kaleel, 4445 St. Angela Place, Canﬁeld 44406.

Newbold Life Skill Center, East Liverpool. Incorporator: Craig Newbold. Filed by: John F. Rasnick, 388 S. Main St., Suite 402, Akron 44311. Agent: Craig Newbold, 114 W. Fifth St., East Liverpool 43920. Newbold Classical PK-12 Education Centers, East Liverpool. Incorporator: Craig Newbold. Filed by: John F. Rasnick, 388 S. Main St., Suite 402, Akron 44311. Agent: Craig Newbold, 114 W. Fifth St., East Liverpool 43920. Huntington Ridge Phase II Condominium Home Owners Association Inc., Canﬁeld. Incorporator: Randy D. Walter. Filed by: Daniel J. Mumaw, 7178 West Blvd., Suite 6, Youngstown 44512. Agent: Randy D. Walter, 6600 Seville Drive #1, Canﬁeld 44406. New Life International Fellowship of Ministries Inc., Youngstown. Incorporators: Bishop Raheem Kaleef-Ali, Bishop Milton Poole Jr. Filed by: New Life Pentecost Temple Inc., 2662 Volney Road, Youngstown 44511. Agent: Bishop Raheem Kaleef-Ali, 2662 Volney Road, Youngstown 44511.

Africa Health and Hope Inc., Canﬁeld. Incorporator: Charles Perkins. Filed by: Charles Perkins, 4870 Warwick Drive South, Canﬁeld 44406. Agent: Same. Mosquito Lake Dog Park Friends, Cortland. Incorporator: Cathy Abruzzo. Filed by: Mosquito Lake Dog Park Friends, 288 Hunters Hollow, Warren 44484. Agent: Cathy Abruzzo, 288 Hunters Hollow, Warren 44484. Trumbull Senior Production Co., Cortland. Incorporator: Jason C. Burgermyer. Filed by: Jason C. Burgermyer, 769 state Route 305, Cortland 44410. Agent: Lois M. Hovance, 918 Mayﬂower St., Warren 44483. Art Outreach Gallery Inc., Niles. Incorporators: Gail Stark, Esther Gartland, Molly Halliday. Filed by: Attorneys Bluedorn & Ohlin LLC, 144 N. Park Ave., Suite 310, Warren 44481. Agent: Gail Stark, 847 Elm Road NE, Warren 44483. Mineral Ridge Historical Society Inc., Mineral Ridge. Incorporator: Joshua M. Garris. Filed by: Joshua M. Garris Ltd., 197 W. Market St., Suite 200, Warren 44481. Agent: Joshua M. Garris, same.

Ohio Fictitious Names Editor’s Note: A ﬁctitious business name is the name under which a company conducts business but which is not the legal name of the owner or of the corporation as indicated in its articles of incorporation. J&G Business Services, Joyce A. McClay, 5760 Rosewood Drive, Youngstown 44512. Mary Catherine’s Formals, Cathy L. Palm, 16051 Irish Bridge Road, Calcutta 43920. Green Earth Tree Care and Preservation, James Ryan Brammer, 6636 Struthers Road, Poland 44514. Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology – West, University of Pittsburgh Physicians, 900 Sahara Trail, Youngstown 44514.

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J.D. Byrider of Alliance, R&M Auto Group Inc., 2122 W. State St., Alliance 44601. Moore and More Books, Cassandra Moore, 7544 Market St. B 4-03, Youngstown 44512. Buckeye Travel Biz, Robyn A. Caruso, 1876 S. Bandy Road, Alliance 44601. Irena’s Studio, Irena Waksmundzki, 6510 Woodridge Way, Warren 44481. Lawrence Farms Trucking, Charles G. Lawrence III, 11698 Ellsworth Road, North Jackson 44451. Mouse in the House, Dana J. Reed, 725 Bane St. SW, Warren 44485.

Edible Arrangements, Robinson Edible LLC, 1112 Drake View Court, North Lima 44452.

Dynamic Sound and Vision, Charles V. Kountz, 310 Crimson Circle, Campbell 44405.

Miracle Mulching, Jeremy A. Giardina, 291 Portal Drive, Cortland 44410.

Community EMS Association, Josh Wilde, 10804 Forst St., Garrettsville 44231.

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RTI Loses $8.7M in Quarter PITTSBURGH, Nov. 3 – RTI International Metals Inc. posts a net loss of $8.7 million, or 35 cents per share, for the quarter ending Sept. 30 mainly because of charges related to debt repayments, tax expenses and delays on a major aerospace project by Boeing, the company said. “We do not expect to post a proﬁt in 2009,” RTI’s CEO, Dawne Hickton, told analysts. During the third quarter of 2008, RTI posted net income of $11.8 million, or 42 cents per share. For the nine months ending Sept. 30, RTI lost $10 million, or 42 cents per share, compared to net income of $52.1 million, or $2.26 per share, in the ﬁrst nine months of 2008.

Business Climate Ranks 4th COLUMBUS, Nov. 3 – Ohio ranks fourth for its business climate this year, up from seventh place in 2008 on Site Selection magazine’s annual report. Ohio leads the Midwest region, and the higher ranking reﬂects efforts to improve the business environment and create jobs, the magazine noted.

Traﬁcant’s New Job: Columnist YOUNGSTOWN, Nov. 2 – American Free Press, a weekly publication that promotes itself as “America’s last real newspaper” has a new columnist – Jim Traﬁcant. His ﬁrst column is titled “Quarterback, Congressman – and Now a Convict.” Traﬁcant writes that he “read[s] the mainstream print medium with much skepticism. Quite frankly, I don’t trust the major newspapers. I do not believe their propaganda.”

MidNOVEMBER 2009

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Valley Jobless Rate Drops YOUNGSTOWN, Oct. 29 – The Mahoning Valley’s unemployment rate remained the highest among Ohio’s 13 metropolitan areas in September, despite falling by nearly a whole percentage point from August. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Metropolitan Statistical Area’s unemployment rate at 12.4%, just above the 12.2% rate recorded for the Weirton-Steubenville MSA. Ohio’s unemployment rate during September was 9.7%. Among the state’s metros, the Columbus MSA posted the lowest rate, 8.2%. In all, seven of Ohio’s MSAs had unemployment rates higher than 10%, and were among 117 metros nationwide above 10% jobless. Among the 13 areas with jobless rates of at least 15%, ﬁve were in California and three in Michigan. Bismarck, N.D., registered the lowest September unemployment rate, 2.9%.

The Business Journal

Farmers Earns $1.56 Million CANFIELD, Nov. 2 – Farmers National Banc Corp. reports net income of $1.56 million, or 12 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The company also announced that its assets hit $1 billion for the ﬁrst time in its history, reaching $1.02 billion. Third-quarter earnings were a little less than the $1.66 million earned during the second quarter, which also translated to 12 cents per share, but more than the $999,000 or 8 cents a share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income was $4.9 million, or 37 cents per share, a 15.3% gain over the same period a year ago when Farmers reported $4.26 million, or 33 cents per share. In a prepared statement, the chairman and CEO of Farmers, Frank L. Paden, said, “Our third-quarter performance reﬂects continued growth in our core loan portfolios and deposits in spite of a clearly very challenging economic environment. Year-over-year, core commercial and retail lending portfolios increased 15% and total deposits increased 14%.

New Ofﬁcers at Penn-Northwest SHARON, Pa., Nov. 2 – Penn-Northwest Development Corp. elected new ofﬁcers at its annual meeting Oct. 30 at the Penn State Shenango campus. The slate includes Kenneth Faulconbridge, Northwest Savings Bank, chairman; Lew Kachulis, Gilberts Insurance and Consulting, and Ken Ammann, Mercer County commissioner, vice chairmen; Robert Wilson, Roll Forming, secretary; John Mastrian, Strimbu Memorial Fund, treasurer; and Tony Zucco, Penn Power, assistant secretary/treasurer.

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INDUSTRIAL SITES

HELP WANTED

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RealEstateMarket

Compiled by Mark Heschmeyer

Trumbull County’s Largest Transactions Address

Buyer

Sale Amount

5185 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles

Cafaro Leasing Co. Ltd.

8925 South St., Howland

Donald J. & Suzanne M. Smith

995 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles

Sale Date

Hanover Niles LLC

10/2/09

$461,000

Valerio & Jeanette Ciancetta

9/23/09

Believers Christian Fellowship

$391,000

Young Men’s Christian Association

9/25/09

2768 S. Fox North Road, Hubbard

Patrick H. & Diana S. McCollum

$300,000

Eugene & Carolyn Eliser

10/13/09

141 W. Market St., Warren

Mahoning Valley Properties Specialist LLC

$200,000

Warren Redevelopment & Planning Corp.

10/22/09

7835 Elm St., Masury

First Inc.

$120,000

Amanto P. & Florence D’Amore

Featured Property 5851 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles Buyer: Cafaro Leasing Co. Ltd. Seller: Hanover Niles LLC Sale Amount: $2,200,125

$2,200,125

Seller

A year after acquiring it, Hanover Real Estate Partners has sold the West Corp. Call Center building that sits on more than 11 acres adjacent to the Eastwood complex in Niles. Hanover, based in Greenwich, Conn., acquired the 72,195-square-foot building in August 2008 for $1.8 million or about $25 per square foot. It sold the building in September for $2,200,125 ($30.50 per square foot)

– a one-year proﬁt of $400,125. Cafaro Leasing Co. Ltd. of Youngstown was the buyer; the company also owns the Eastwood Mall and surrounding retail complex. West Corp., based in Omaha, opened the Niles call center in 2004 and employs 1,200 people at the center. The company renewed its lease at the site in September.

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Auto Loan Rates

CONSUMERS NATIONAL BANK – Salem Up to 60 Mos. 5.75 - 16.50 Rate varies based on applicant’s credit rating

FIRST PLACE BANK – Boardman Up to 60 Mos. 10% Down

8.00

7.74 8.24

CORTLAND BANKS – Cortland Up to 60 Mos. Up to 72 Mos.

6.75 6.75

HOME SAVINGS – Youngstown Up to 60 Mos. Up to 66 Mos. 10% Down

E.S.B. BANK – Ellwood City Up to 60 Mos. Up to 72 Mos.

7.65 8.65

HUNTINGTON BANK – Youngstown Up to 60 Mos.

FARMERS NATIONAL BANK – Canﬁeld Up to 60 Mos. Up to 72 Mos.

6.40 6.94

KEYBANK – Youngstown Up to 66 Mos. Down: Varies

Rate varies based on applicant’s credit rating

FIRST MERIT BANK – New Castle Up to 48 Mos. 5.50-12.50 10% Down FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF PA. – Hermitage Up to 60 Mos. 7.85 Up to 66 Mos. 7.85 1ST NATIONAL COMMUNITY – East Liverpool Up to 60 Mos. 6.00 - 11.75

6.99

PNC BANK – Sharon Up to 66 Mos. PNC BANK – Youngstown Up to 66 Mos.

5.99

7.24

7.00 - 13.00

Rate varies based on applicant’s credit rating

US BANK (formerly Firstar Bank) – Boardman Up to 48 Mos. 4.50

Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of The Business Journal compilations. The rates are subject to change without notice. All rate information should be conﬁrmed with the individual ﬁnancial institution before entering into transactions. © 2009 Youngstown Publishing Co.

Home Sales Drop in September Only Columbiana County sees increase in average sale price.

H

ome sales in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties were all down in September from a year ago, reports the Youngstown Columbiana Association of Realtors. In terms of raw numbers, Mahoning County’s sales of houses saw the steepest drop, with 174 sold in September, down 15 from 189 in September 2008. Measured by percentages, Trumbull County’s drop was the steepest, with 132 houses sold in September, down from 145 in September 2008, a decrease of nearly 9%. Columbiana County’s sales fell by a modest two units over the year, 62 in September compared with 64 in September 2008. September sales in both Trumbull and Columbiana counties were up slightly from August, while Mahoning’s sales were down. In August, Trumbull recorded 131 sold while 58 were sold in Columbiana. In Mahoning, 174 homes sold in September, down from 197 in August. Sales for September totaled $15.6 million in Mahoning County and $10.1 million in Trumbull County, both down from a year ago, when the counties posted total sales of $19.3 million, a nearly 19% drop, and $13.1 million, for a 22% decrease, respectively. Columbiana County’s $5.1 million in sales for the month was up from $4.9 million in September 2008.

Mahoning’s September total was down from $19.7 million in August while Trumbull’s total for the preceeding month was $10.3 million and Columbiana’s August total was $4.6 million. The average selling price in Mahoning County was $89,774 in September, down from $99,832 in August and $101,936 from a year ago. Trumbull County’s average selling price was $76,650, compared with $78,307 in August and $90,112 in September 2008. The average selling price in Columbiana County for September was $81,886, up from $79,097 the previous month and $75,799 a year ago. Until housing gets back on its feet, the U.S. economy will not fully recover, says the Home Builders/ Remodelers Association of Mahoning Valley. That is because of the broad expenditures related to housing labor, materials and services. In 2005 housing accounted for nearly 5% of gross domestic product, a ﬁgure that dropped by one point in 2008. For every 100 houses started in most U.S. markets, the trade group reports, $16 million was generated for the local economy. Between 2005 and 2008, $48 million was lost in Mahoning County and $24 million in Trumbull County, the HBA estimates. Similarly, based on the calculation that 100 new housing starts will generate an average of 284 local jobs, an estimated 744 jobs were lost in Mahoning and 426 in Trumbull during the same period. What’s the Buzz? BusinessJournalDaily Buzz daily newscast coming soon to BusinessJournalDaily.com and your in-box.

The Business Journal

November 6, 2009

59

MidNOVEMBER 2009

Mortgage Rates

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AMERISTATE BANCORP INC. Boardman

TYPE

TERM

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�� FEES

RATE, 2-Wk Trend

FHA/VA Fixed

0% Down 3% Down

30 Yr. 30 Yr.

5.00 — 5.00 —

0+costs 0+costs

CHARTER ONE BANK Boardman

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.50 — 5.125 —

0+costs 0+costs

CONSUMERS NATIONAL BANK Salem

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.50 — 5.125 —

0+costs 0+costs

CORTLAND BANKS Cortland

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.50  5.125 —

0+costs 0+costs

DOLLAR BANK MORTGAGE CENTER Cleveland

ARM Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

5 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.125  5.00 

0+costs 0+costs

E.S.B. BANK Ellwood City, Pa.

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.50  5.25 

0+costs 0+costs

FARMERS NATIONAL BANK Canﬁeld

Fixed Fixed

20% Down 20% Down

15 Yr. 20 Yr.

4.75 — 5.125 —

0+costs 0+costs

FIRST MERIT BANK New Castle/Boardman

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.50 — 5.125 —

0+costs 0+costs

FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF PA Youngstown, Ohio

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.375  5.125 —

0+costs 0+costs

Arrows tell whether rates rose or fell since last issue. Dashes indicate “unchanged.”

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60

MidNOVEMBER 2009

City Title Company R E A L E S TAT E T I T L E I N S U R A N C E

ESCROWS RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL Visit our Web site and order services online!

www.citytitleco.com Atty. Donald P. Leone

5361 Market St. Youngstown, OH 44512 Fax: (330) 782-8819 (330) 782-8810

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November 6, 2009

The Business Journal

Mortgage Rates

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

TYPE

TERM

RATE, 2-Wk Trend

FEES

1ST NATIONAL COMMUNITY East Liverpool

FHA Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

30 Yr. 30 Yr.

5.375  5.375 —

0+costs 0+costs

FIRST PLACE BANK Boardman

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.375  5.125 —

FLAGSTAR BANK Beechwood

Fixed Fixed

0% Down 0% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.875  5.00 —

0+costs 0+costs

HOME FEDERAL Niles

Fixed

20% Down

15 Yr.

6.00 —

0+costs

HOME SAVINGS Youngstown

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.375 — 4.99 —

0+costs 0+costs

HOWARD HANNA FINANCIAL Pittsburgh

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.50 — 5.125 —

0+costs 0+costs

HUNTINGTON BANK Youngstown

Fixed Fixed

3% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

4.375  5.00 

0+costs 0+costs

KEYBANK Youngstown

Fixed Fixed

20% Down 20% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

PNC BANK Youngstown

FHA Fixed

3% Down 5% Down

30 Yr. 30 Yr.

WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE Boardman (Formerly Norwest Mortgage)

FHA Fixed

3% Down 5% Down

30 Yr. 30 Yr.

5.25  5.125 

US BANK Boardman (Formerly Firstar Bank)

Fixed Fixed

5% Down 5% Down

15 Yr. 30 Yr.

5.77 — 5.44 —

© 2009 Youngstown Publishing Co.

All rights reserved.

5.00  5.25 —

5.00  5.125 —

*Private Mortgage Insurance because less than 20% down.

0+costs 0+costs

0+costs 0+costs 1+costs 0+costs 0+costs 0+costs 0+costs 1+costs

The Business Journal

61

MidNOVEMBER 2009

First Place Sees Way Out of the Forest Don’t blame community banks for last year’s near ﬁnancial meltdown, CEO tells shareholders. By Dennis LaRue VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio – First Place Financial Corp. would like to be better understood, its president and CEO, Steven R. Lewis told shareholders gathered Oct. 29 for the company’s annual meeting at the Squaw Creek Golf Club. In a sea of misinformation compounded by careless reporting in the ﬁnancial media, community banks ﬁnd it hard to get their story across, Lewis suggested, and ﬁnd themselves lumped together with banks deemed too big to fail and institutions that aren’t banks, such as AIG and GMAC, as responsible for the ﬁnancial hardships many Americans face. It’s the lightly regulated or unregulated ﬁnancial institutions – such as investment banks and insurance companies – that caused the near ﬁnancial meltdown a year ago. Only public utility companies are subject to more regulation than community banks, he said, and they ﬁnd themselves under ﬁre from consumers, businesses and regulators. “The government [Treasury Department] isn’t bailing out [failing community] banks,” Lewis said. “The FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.] is” through much higher premiums it charges banks. He cited First Place Bank’s experience with FDIC premiums over the last ﬁve quarters, $7,000 for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008; $84,000 for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008; $64,000 for the quarter ended March 31, $1.98 million for the quarter ended June 30 (including a special assessment), and $94,000 for the quarter ended Sept. 30. FDIC premiums have risen 13-fold, Lewis said. And he’s tired of hearing that banks should engage in more consumer lending. “It’s not that banks have stopped lending,” Lewis stated. “It’s that people have stopped borrowing” as they strive to reduce debt in the worst recession to hit the country since World War II. As for commercial lending, he told reporters afterward, regulators want to ensure that banks lend prudently and all banks, including First Place, have

ceased extending credit to their customers that pose into four sectors: commercial banking, mortgage the most risk. banking, retail banking and wealth management. Cut off, these businesses turn to other banks that By realigning its operations, Lewis said, First see the same hazards as the banks that decided they Place has gained better control, improved consisno longer want these commercial customers. tency, reduced complexity, reduced risk and imAs for those who have lost their jobs and are proved efﬁciency. struggling to pay their mortgages, Lewis said, Since announcing it would give away the ﬁrst “When there’s no income three Cruzes that come stream, you can modify a In a sea of misinformation compounded by off the General Motors loan all you want and it assembly line at Lordcareless reporting in the ﬁnancial media, Co. means nothing. Look, the stown next year, foot traflast thing I want to do is community banks ﬁnd it hard to get their ﬁc in First Place ofﬁces take a house back.” The story across, Lewis suggested. here and in Michigan has expense of foreclosure, increased substantially, repossession, and making the house presentable for Lewis said. Interest is high in Michigan because the sale always exceeds the sale price First Place gets, engines in the Cruzes will be built in Flint. he explained. Much of the credit for an increase of 423 houseThe CEO told shareholders that the rate of forehold accounts and 179 business checking accounts closures has slowed and, in the quarter ended Sept. the quarter ended Sept. 30 can be traced to the 30, First Place sold more real estate owned (as bankcompany’s marketing campaigns, he said. Another ers call repossessed properties) than it foreclosed on. 3,200 were added in its ﬁscal 2009. He sees that as a sign of progress that the recession By deciding to suspend paying a cash dividend is technically over but unemployment remains high, on its common stock indeﬁnitely, Lewis reported the especially in markets First Place serves. company is saving $370,000, more than enough to Lewis expressed scorn for the so-called Cash for cover two quarters of payments to Treasury for the Clunkers program Treasury launched to spur sales 5% dividend on the $72.9 million in preferred stock of automobiles and incredulity at a proposal of a it holds in the company. similar program to sell new appliances. In the items on the agenda shareholders voted on, The $8,000 tax credit the government has exMarie Izzo Cartwright, Robert P. Grace and Thomas tended ﬁrst-time home buyers to help the housing M. Humphries were re-elected to three-year terms market recover has much more merit, he told reportas directors. All received at least 92% of the 14 milers, and were it up to him, he would extend it beyond lion-plus shares voted. Dec. 31 and make it available to more Americans, In a nonbinding vote, shareholders approved the not just ﬁrst-time buyers. revised salary and beneﬁts packages the compensaThe ﬁnances of First Place continue to improve, tion committee of the board extended. With the acLewis and the chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer, David Gifford, ceptance of Treasury funds in the form of preferred reported. stock to shore up capital, the employment contracts Having reported a loss of $5.9 million for the of key employees were abrogated, Lewis noted. quarter ended Sept. 30, that was small compared His ﬁve-year contract, for example, was revised at to the $110.43 million for ﬁscal 2009 (ended June Treasury’s insistence to no more than 36 months and 30), although some $93 million of that ﬁgure came he has considerably less job security and a smaller from writing off good will, and it has disposed of severance package should he leave his post whether all of the preferred stock (after marking to market) voluntarily or involuntarily. in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The revised compensation packages, Lewis told First Place has completed its transition from a hyreporters, pay him and his colleagues less than the brid to the business model it has set in place, Lewis average their counterparts at banks of similar sizes said, a model that divides the corporation’s business are paid.

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MidNOVEMBER 2009

The Business Journal

BUSINESSJOURNALDAILY.COM VIDEO SERIES

3 Minutes...

Alex & Jorgine Shaffo, Owners

330-743-0920 Hours:

Monday-Friday 10:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.

Located in the YMCA Building 17 N. Champion St. • Downtown Youngstown

NEW MENU EVERY DAY

Debora Flora

Bert Cene

Executive Director Lien Forward Ohio

Director, Mahoning & Columbiana Training Association

O

T

n the urging of V&M Star Steel, which may invest nearly $1 billion into its local operations, city ofﬁcials, representatives of Mahoning County government, residents and businesses have kicked into action an ambitious cleanup of the historic Brier Hill neighborhood along U.S. Route 422. V&M Star attracts visitors from all over the world, observes Debora Flora, executive director of Lien Foward, and the company wants to improve the neighborhood’s appearance and one of the city’s most visible gateways so that visitors leave with a better impression of the city.

he Mahoning & Columbiana Training Association received $3.5 million in stimulus funds; $1.4 million of that was used for a summer program that put 500 youths to work. The rest of the funding has enabled the organization to accommodate a 100% increase in demand for services. “We’ve only had to expand our staff 12% for that increase. We have expanded our hours and, we have made sure that all individuals looking for training have been funded for training through September of this year,” Bert Cene, director says.

What is Lien Foward?

Right now we have over 260 individual training accounts. Last year, we had just 110.

Lien Forward is a partnership between the city of Youngstown and Mahoning County focused on returning vacant, abandoned tax-delinquent land to productivity.

Ultimate Goal? To reduce the number of tax-delinquent lots in Mahoning County.

Progress So Far: The ﬁrst thing we needed to do was establish our operation to help people acquire these properties. We’ve done that and we are now approaching 500 properties that we’re helping to transfer. Of that 500, 200 are already transferred to new owners and are already being put to more productive use.

How Many Individuals?

Training Accounts? These are individuals that come in and want to increase their training capacity, their skill upgrades, and we can fund them through Youngstown State University, career-tech centers. We can actually pay costs up to $6,500 per year for up to two years.

People Looking for Work? We’ve seen over 47,000 visits to our One-Stop system for people either looking for work – unemployed people – or people trying to upgrade their skills in the three-county area. … We estimate about 2.5 visits per person.

Visit BusinessJournalDaily.com to view video interviews with the Mahoning Valley’s most inﬂuential business and community leaders. Topics are always timely and pertinent.

The Business Journal

63

MidNOVEMBER 2009

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THE BUSINESS JOURNAL P.O. BOX 714 YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO 44501 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

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