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CHAMBER ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
MEETING HELD MAY 12, 2015
The Chamber’s Annual Membership Meeting was held
on May 12th at 7:30 am at the Polk Township Building
on SR 309.
Jennifer Kuns, Chamber Board Chair, welcomed those in
attendance.
Pastor Ash Welch of St. Paul Methodist Church gave the
invocation, and a breakfast catered by Granny’s Kitchen
was enjoyed.
Following breakfast, Jennifer Kuns conducted the Annual
Business Meeting and Chamber President Joe
Kleinknecht presented his year­end report.
Officers elected to serve terms expiring in 2117:
Details
Board Chair: Terry Gribble, Galion Community Center­YMCA
First Vice Chair:
Keith Hummel, Tramec Sloan Inc.
Secretary/Treasurer:
Sherri Clevenger, First Federal Bank of Ohio
Immediate Past Chair:
Jennifer Kuns, United Bank
Newly elected Chamber board officers Terry Gribble, Keith
Hummel, Sherri Clevenger and Jennifer Kuns.
Board of Directors elected to serve terms for 2015­
2018:
Jennifer Kuns, United Bank Keith Hummel, Tramec Sloan
Grant Garverick, Hottenroth, Garverick, Tilson &
Garverick
Matt Horn, Brother Body & Equipment Joe Kleinknecht gave closing comments and adjourned
the meeting.
MCDONALDS/GALION­CRESTLINE AREA CHAMBER GOLF OUTING
IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!
It's hard to believe our 13th annual Golf Outing is just three weeks away! Scheduled for
Thursday, June 18, the Chamber Golf Outing is a great opportunity to promote your
business with a sponsorship and network with other business leaders in the area. Click
the image above or see here for registration information and to find out how you can
become a sponsor of this annual Chamber event.
Brush & Palette Art Gallery
Brush & Palette Art Gallery
Diane Bell
114 Harding Way East (Rear)
Galion, Ohio 44833
419­468­5965
CenturyLink
Tim Kleinknecht
775 Lexington Ave.
Mansfield, Ohio 44907
419­564­6082
Earthworm Construction LLC
Louie Cortez
3448 State Route 309
Iberia, Ohio 43325
419­468­5076
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS HELD AT DONLEY FORD On May 14th Chamber members and their guests enjoyed a business after hours from
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Donley Ford.
Those in attendance were greeted by General Sales Manager, Tim Waddell, and other
Donley employees and participated in a scavenger hunt to find prizes stashed in 20
different vehicles on the lot.
Upon arrival people were given two sets of car keys and headed to the car lot to seek
their treasures, including travel mugs, travel bags, free oil changes, and more.
Refreshments from Bills Bakery in Galion along with beverages were also enjoyed.
The Grand Prize, a trunk tote filled with a $20 marathon gift card, a Ford sweatshirt,
coffee mug, colored t­shirt, hat, car coasters, can koozies, and a drawstring sports bag
was won by Sherri Clevenger.
Donley Ford After Hours Grand Prize winner, Sherri Clevenger.
On May 13th a ribbon cutting was held at the Brush & Palette Art Gallery at 114
Harding Way East (Rear) in Galion.
On May 22nd a ribbon cutting was held at the Life Changing Counseling Center at 223
E. Atwood Street in Galion. 2014 CHAMBER AND BETTERMENT COMMISSION ANNUAL
AWARDS The Chamber and Galion Area Betterment Commission held its annual awards
presentations immediately following the Chamber’s Annual Meeting on May 12.
Recipients of this year’s Chamber Awards:
Industry of the Year: Galion, LLC. 2014 began with GALION, LLC introducing new
President, Michael Cedoz; new Controller, Mark Sanford; and a new HR Manager and
National Sales Manager. February saw employment drop to 76 employees due to the
moving of their CNC Equipment to their sister company in Florida. However recovery
started in June with an increase in business and call backs. In fact they even cancelled
their traditional July 4th week shut down. On October 3, 2014 they held a “Manufacturers
Day” with local leaders, colleges and Pioneer Career & Technology Center participating.
During the year, three associates were recognized by the Ohio Treasurers Office under
the Ohio Strong Manufacturing Program. A new ERP System was implemented and
$600,000 was spent on building updates and revitalization. Galion LLC ended the year
with 107 employees, and with plans in place to bring back their CNC Equipment to Galion
with a $3 million capital expense.
Business of the Year: Firelands Federal Credit Union. Firelands Federal Credit
Union was first chartered in 1957 as Bellevue Terminal Federal Credit Union, and served
only employees of the Nickel Plate Railroad and their families. The credit union went
through 2 mergers from 1999 to 2005 with the final one bringing its services to Crawford
County. In 2008, Firelands opened a new 4000+ square foot Bucyrus location. In 2012,
they opened a new 4000+ square foot location in Monroeville and in 2014 opened up its
new Galion location on State Route 598. The Crawford County branches employ 14 full­time and two part­time employees as well
as one intern. There are 99 total employees working at all Firelands FCU branches. Firelands has a total of 29,000 members with 3500 in the Galion branch.
Service Business of the Year: Avita Health System/Galion Community Hospital.
2014 was a busy year for Avita Health System, as usual. It began with the initial
renovation of the Obstetrics Department, where approximately 400 babies are born
annually. Rheumatology and Urology services were added and Pulmonology and Critical
Care were expanded. The Accounting and Payroll Departments were moved to
Avita/Crestline to allow for patient care and increased parking in Galion. In­patient rooms
saw renovations with the updating of flooring and bathrooms. The use of the state­of­the­
art Davinci Robot to assist with surgeries began in 2014 and 15 new providers were
added to the system.
Chamber Volunteer of the Year: Denise Livingston. Denise has served as a
Chamber Ambassador since the inception of the program 10 years ago. She is always
willing to help. Whether it’s ribbon cuttings, attending business after hours, stuffing
goodie bags for the golf outing and forecast breakfast, soliciting auction items for the
holiday open house or attending other Chamber events, she is always there. She is
always making a big push to sell raffle tickets for the Chamber holiday open house &
auction. When we have our organizational meetings for this event, without exception, she
tells everyone to sell all their tickets and not to turn any back in or else. We don’t know
the consequences of not selling all your raffle tickets, as everyone seems to have gotten
her message. We can always count on Denise to give a helping hand.
Professional of the Year: Jennifer Kuns. Jennifer has served on the Chamber
Executive Committee for the past 5 years with the last 3 being as Chamber Board Chair
(the first person to serve 3 consecutive terms). She serves as a Chamber Ambassador
and co­chairs the Chamber Advocacy Division. She also has been a member of the
Galion School Board for the past 6 years, where she has served as Board Vice­President
and currently serves as Board President. Jennifer employed by United Bank as a Retail
Lending Banking Officer.
L to R: Steve Wasserman, Firelands Federal Credit Union; Jennifer Kuns, United Bank, Jerry Morasko, Avita
Health System, Galion Community Hospital; Denise Livingston, Dostal & Kirk; Michael Cedoz, Galion LLC
Recipients of this year’s Galion Area Betterment Commission Awards:
Organization of the Year: Galion Community Center­YMCA
2014 saw the Center­YMCA complete a nearly $1 million renovation project that
happened because of a successful capital campaign that was held the previous year.
Nearly every part of the building saw a complete facelift or at least some renovations.
Walls were torn out, and outside and inside windows were installed for a more open
atmosphere. Major changes were made to the Cardio­Vascular Room and the
Weight/Nautilus Room along with the purchase of new weights and equipment. Updates
in the nursery, pool viewing room, lobby, locker rooms, main gym and heating and air
conditioning complemented the major changes that took place on the outside surface of
the facility. The facility reaches thousands of people annually. Citizen of the Year: Carolyn McElligott
Carolyn has served the hospital as a volunteer since 1971, contributing well over 2,000
hours of her time to serve the needs of others. She has worked tirelessly on many
programs, including helping with the Hospital Auxiliary, the gift shop and comfort carts for
patients. She also volunteers her talents on the Avita Health Foundation’s Divas and
Darlings committee. Carolyn is well­known in the community for the adorable chocolate
Easter bunnies that she prepares every year for the Annual Easter Bake Sale fundraiser.
Humanitarian of the Year: Dr. John Shuler
Dr. John Shuler, a local veterinarian, works with the local Humane Society as well as the
Morrow and Richland County Humane Societies with their rabies/microchip clinics; is on
call with the American Red Cross and Women’s Domestic Violence Shelte;, serves on the
Galion Community Foundation Board and is a past board member of OSU­Mansfield and
the Past President of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Shuler not only looks
out for our pets, but shows compassion for their owners. L to R: Ken Davis, Galion Community Center­YMCA; Carolyn McElligott; and Dr. John Shuler
Electric, Contractor & Realty Scams!
"We're calling from the electric company. You haven't paid your bill and we are sending a
truck over to cut off your electric service right now!" Businesses are getting these threatening
calls and are told that they need to send hundreds of dollars immediately to avoid disconnection.
The crooks called Rene Breymaier at the office of Dr. Gary Breymaier, DDS (Toledo). She
knew it was a lie because she had the electric bill in front of her, so she asked to speak to a
supervisor. They hung up. We are hearing multiple reports of these crooks threatening
businesses with utility shutoffs. Dunn Funeral Home (B.G.) got the call and also didn't fall for it.
businesses with utility shutoffs. Dunn Funeral Home (B.G.) got the call and also didn't fall for it.
Another restaurant got the phone call, "Have you received your shutoff notice yet?" The owner
had just paid his electric and was baffled. They used the name "American Electric" and
demanded he go to Meijer and buy ReloadIt cards for $ 1,250, then give them the numbers on the
backs of the cards so they can get the money. He knew the story was fishy and didn't fall for it,
but another restaurant he knows sent them $ 1,100!
Before you panic and send money, VERIFY! Call the power company yourself and ask if there
is a problem.
NEXT: "We are looking for a bid on a roof" says the "hearing impaired" phone call to Ron at
Rome Construction (Toledo). "...and do you take credit cards?" When Rome returned the call
with the bid, the callers were pleased with the price...however there was one catch. They asked
Rome to put through a $ 5,000 down payment on the credit card, then send $ 2,600 to a Florida
address. Ron knew about such scams; the credit card numbers are stolen and will be
reversed in a few days and refused. End of communication with the potential "customer." The
same scam was tried on Shawn Pirolli at S & J Construction (Northwood) with one clever
wrinkle. They said "We are calling your company because on line we see you are a BBB
Member, and that's how we know you are reputable." He also didn't fall for it.
NEXT: BBB Annual Meeting Reception is Thursday, June 4th at 3 PM. It will be at BBB
offices and is free to all ABs. Snacks and refreshments will be served and the meeting should
not last over one hour. We hope you come and enjoy meeting BBB staff and other Accredited
Business leaders. Call Brenda to confirm (419) 578­6000.
NEXT: The real estate "rental" scam is hitting heavy! Gina Graf (ReMax Preferred) has been
flooded with calls from consumers who see one of her home listings on Craig's List. The home
is for sale, but the Craig's List offer claimed to be a rental ­ for only $400/month ("too good to be
true," right?) The so­called owner advertising the rental is going to South Africa, but if you send
him $400 he will send you the keys. Gina has reported this scam to the police and Craig's List in
hope they will remove the bogus listing. Some "renters" (victims) have even pulled out the "for
sale" sign in the front yard. Real estate professionals struggle with the scam constantly; the
Nigerian thugs copy a "for sale" listing from the internet and run the notice as a "rental" on
bulletin boards like Craig's List. Desperate consumers seeking low­cost rentals will sometimes be
talked into sending first­and­last month's rent, plus security deposit ­ over $ 1,200 ­ to the African
(or Jamaican, or Russian) crooks.
FINALLY: Internet retailer 1991, Inc. advertises sweaters and clothing all over North
America...but 83 BBB complaints (55 not answered) have earned the company a grade of F. It is
apparently located in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Consumers say merchandise purchased from the
company was not delivered. Although the company does respond to them via e­mail promising
their order will be shipped the following day, they were given a tracking number which was
incorrect and the merchandise was still never received even though their credit card was charged
immediately upon ordering. Consumers are not informed there will be a 4­6 week delivery time
until after they receive an email confirmation for their order. Some orders have not been received
after waiting eight months. 1991, Inc. has a return policy stating that all sales are final.
Dick Eppstein, BBB
GALION CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT: Recently received the “Auditor of State Award”. This
award shows the focus of the Treasurer’s office to assist the Board of Education on
following through on their commitment to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars.
CROSSROADS CANDLES: Recently announced a new partnership with Imagine That! a
leading representative agency of manufacturers in the gift industry. This new association
allows Crossroads a presence in a permanent showroom in the Dallas Market Center
and to further expand sales in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas region.
Crossroads is owned by Jason & Justin McMullen.
SCHMIDT SECURITY PRO: Was recently presented with an industry award at the
International Security Conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 14th – 17th 2015.
Company President, Brian Schmidt accepted the Alarm.com “Dedicated Success Award”
on behalf of Schmidt Security Pro at the security conference. The award signifies the
commitment Schmidt Security Pro makes to offer North Central Ohio the highest quality
and most advanced interactive security and automation systems available today.
Information about the interactive security services offered by Schmidt Security Pro can
be found at www.schmidtsecurity.com.
DONLEY FORD: Recently celebrated 25 years of serving the Galion Community. They
opened the doors at their current facility at 702 Charles St. on March of 1990.
CITY OF GALION: Check out the city's new website at www.ci.galion.oh.us.
Copyright © 2015 Galion­Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a member or friend of the Galion­Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce. If you do not
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419 Harding Way West
Galion, OH 44833
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