Crain's Cleveland Business by Crain's Cleveland Business

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JobsOhio altering its vision

City Club is getting younger in Year 101 Organization’s new strategic plan puts emphasis on appeal to wider audience

Gov. Kasich de-emphasizes the role financial incentives will play in nonprofit’s economic development work

By MICHELLE PARK mpark@crain.com

The 100th year of The City Club of Cleveland was a time of celebration and reflection. The 101st year — if all goes according to plan — should be one of change. Drawing on feedback from a local consultant and more than 100 people, including 20 community leaders, the City Club’s strategic planning committee has delivered the first comprehensive strategic plan the organization has had in eight years. The full board approved the plan last month. The City Club that emerges in coming months, guided by that plan, will be one that seeks to extend conversations beyond its live forums and to further engage audiences, particularly the younger crowd, via social media and different events, said Paul Harris and Barbara Danforth, co-chairs of the strategic planning committee and board directors. “It will look different,” said Ms. Danforth, a senior vice president of Ratliff & Taylor, a human resources consulting firm in Independence. See CLUB Page 23

INSIDE They’re on the go

Brecksville startup Movable is drawing the interest of Northeast Ohio businesses with its MOVbands, which help individuals track their fitness.

By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com

MARC GOLUB

Paul Harris, left, is co-chair of the City Club’s strategic planning committee. Hugh McKay, right, is a past president of the club.

As a gubernatorial candidate in 2010, John Kasich vowed to restructure the state’s economic development efforts by creating a nonprofit called JobsOhio that would help Ohio operate at “the speed of business.” Gov. Kasich got his way in forming JobsOhio, but it has “There are taken nearly two years for the CEOs that call nonprofit to get its financing in me. I say, order. And the Kasich team ‘Look, if you only now is figuring out how it will operate — due in part to a want to leave, I change of heart by the governor hope you have about financial incentives to a nice trip.’ ” business (he no longer favors them) and brownfield remedi– Gov. John Kasich, ation (it will be a big factor after in a year-end Statehouse news all). conference JobsOhio to date essentially has administered programs once run by the Ohio Department of Development, which is being dismantled. But the agency now has a full tank of gas for the first time and a new leader mapping out the road ahead. The key to moving ahead is a complicated transaction See JOBSOHIO Page 8

TOA makes giant leaps in its software niche Beachwood company that helps firms manage mobile work forces doubles its sales in one year By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com

Five years ago, the CEO of TOA Technologies told Crain’s that his goal was to dominate the business of managing

mobile work forces. Seems he wasn’t kidding. Since then, the Beachwood software company’s sales have exploded, and it has become one of the leaders in its sector, according to business research firm

Gartner Inc. Last year was particularly big for TOA: The company’s sales hit $41 million in 2012, more than double the $20 million TOA brought in during 2011. The company, which makes software designed to help businesses efficiently manage and route mobile workers, is accustomed to seeing its top line grow by big percentages. See TOA Page 25

Carmi

NEWSPAPER

74470 83781

SPECIAL SECTION

HIGHER EDUCATION Many universities are placing more of an emphasis on advising students ■ Pages 13-20 PLUS: THE STEM MOVEMENT ■ BUSINESS SCHOLARS ■ & MORE

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COMING NEXT WEEK

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3 , 2013

HONK IF YOU LIKE A BARGAIN Northeast Ohio is a great place to buy a used car, according to data compiled by CarGurus.com. The automotive website’s data show that used vehicle prices are the lowest in Miami, where they’re 6.6% below the national average, which is about $14,400. Cleveland, though, is No. 2. The site notes that dealers within a 50-mile radius of a major city generally offer lower prices on equivalent models than their counterparts in distant suburbs and rural areas. Here are the country’s 10 most affordable used car markets.

Honoring innovation Crain’s is again partnering with local technology advocacy group NorTech to identify some of the area’s most promising innovations. In next week’s section, we will profile this year’s award finalists.

City

REGULAR FEATURES Big Issue .....................11 Bright Spots ................21 Classified ....................25 Editorial ......................10

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Going Places ...............12 Milestone ....................26 Letter..........................10 Reporters’ Notebook....26

Miami Cleveland Rochester, N.Y. Detroit Stamford, Conn. Akron Buffalo Toledo New York City Minneapolis SOURCE: CARGURUS.COM

Percentage below national average 6.6% 5.7% 5.4% 4.7% 4.7% 4.4% 4.4% 3.7% 3.7% 2.8%

700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 Phone: (216) 522-1383 Fax: (216) 694-4264 www.crainscleveland.com Publisher/editorial director: Brian D. Tucker (btucker@crain.com) Editor: Mark Dodosh (mdodosh@crain.com) Managing editor: Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com) Sections editor: Amy Ann Stoessel (astoessel@crain.com) Assistant editor: Kevin Kleps (kkleps@crain.com) Sports Senior reporter: Stan Bullard (sbullard@crain.com) Real estate and construction Reporters: Jay Miller (jmiller@crain.com) Government Chuck Soder (csoder@crain.com) Technology Dan Shingler (dshingler@crain.com) Energy, steel and automotive Tim Magaw (tmagaw@crain.com) Health care and education Michelle Park (mpark@crain.com) Finance Research editor: Deborah W. Hillyer (dhillyer@crain.com) Cartoonist/illustrator: Rich Williams Marketing director: Lori Yannucci Grim (lgrim@crain.com) Events Manager/Operations & Logistics: Christian Hendricks (chendricks@crain.com) Events Manager/Promotions & Sponsor Relations: Jessica Snyder (jdsnyder@crain.com) Advertising director: Nicole Mastrangelo (nmastrangelo@crain.com) Senior account executive: Adam Mandell (amandell@crain.com) Account executives: Dawn Donegan (ddonegan@crain.com) Andy Hollander (ahollander@crain.com) Lindsie Bowman (lbowman@crain.com) John Banks (jbanks@crain.com) Sales and marketing assistant: Michelle Sustar (msustar@crain.com) Office coordinator: Denise Donaldson (ddonaldson@crain.com) Digital strategy and development manager: Stephen Herron (sherron@crain.com) Web/Print production director: Craig L. Mackey (cmackey@crain.com) Production assistant/video editor: Steven Bennett (sbennett@crain.com) Graphic designer: Lauren M. Rafferty (lrafferty@crain.com) Billing: Susan Jaranowski, 313-446-6024 (sjaranowski@crain.com) Credit: Todd Masura, 313-446-6097 (tmasura@crain.com)

Crain Communications Inc. Keith E. Crain: Chairman Rance Crain: President Merrilee Crain: Secretary Mary Kay Crain: Treasurer William A. Morrow: Executive vice president/operations Brian D. Tucker: Vice president Robert C. Adams: Group vice president technology, circulation, manufacturing Paul Dalpiaz: Chief Information Officer Dave Kamis: Vice president/production & manufacturing Mary Kramer: Group publisher G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Subscriptions: In Ohio: 1 year - $64, 2 year - $110. Outside Ohio: 1 year - $110, 2 year - $195. Single copy, $2.00. Allow 4 weeks for change of address. For subscription information and delivery concerns send correspondence to Audience Development Department, Crain’s Cleveland Business, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, 48207-2912, or email to customerservice@crainscleveland.com, or call 877-812-1588 (in the U.S. and Canada) or (313) 446-0450 (all other locations), or fax 313-446-6777. Reprints: Call 1-800-290-5460 Ext. 125 Audit Bureau of Circulation

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Corporate Services folds; 77 lose jobs

INSIGHT

Construction project had cost overrun, leading to dispute with Huntington By MICHELLE PARK mpark@crain.com

MCKINLEY WILEY

Movable, founded by Blake Squires, had $1 million in sales in 2012, its first full year in business. The company’s MOVbands chart fitness.

WELLNESS T AT HAND

By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com

Startup Movable is producing wristbands that measure fitness

he blue wristband Jennifer Lann wears on her arm attracts a lot of attention. A lot. “Everywhere I go — at the airport, at the mall, at the hair salon, at restaurants, all over the place — people say, ‘What is that?’” Ms. Lann said. Answer: It’s a MOVband, a device that tracks how active she is. And don’t be surprised if you spot other people wearing them around town. See WELLNESS Page 24

THE WEEK IN QUOTES “Historically, the City Club has informed, has provided a speaker pretty much in a passive way. Now, we’re talking about informing, motivating and engaging … creating opportunities for the conversation to continue.”

“I don’t see how sequestration can benefit anyone or anything. It’s unfortunate our political system is so gridlocked we have this going on.”

— Barbara Danforth, a City Club board director and co-chair of its strategic planning committee. Page One

— From a comment in The Big Issue. Page 11

“We’re growing our own honors students for the University of Akron.” — Susan Ramlo, University of Akron professor and special projects coordinator for STEM education initiatives. Page 13

“The person cannot replace Jerry Sue Thornton. … She has her own leadership style, own personality and amazing relationships she’s built over the years. The new person is going to be different than Jerry Sue Thornton.” — Ralph Dise Jr., president of Dise & Co. Page 20

Though it was in the process of creating a new multimillion-dollar headquarters, Cleveland-based Cleveland Corporate Services Inc. has closed its doors and laid off 77 people. As Crain’s previously reported, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors last Nov. 26. It had been renovating a property at 5777 Grant Ave. to become its headquarters and training center in a $3 million project, said Gregory Peck, CEO and president of Cleveland Corporate Services, which was a reseller in Ohio and six other states of interactive whiteboards made by Smart Technologies. “After almost 24 years with everything put into the business and 77 people losing their jobs, it’s very difficult,” Mr. Peck said last Friday, Feb. 22. Cleveland Corporate Services had a mortgage, a construction loan and a business line of credit with Huntington National Bank, Mr. Peck said. As of Feb. 4, the day it was shuttered, the company owed the bank roughly $5.2 million, he said. According to Mr. Peck, the company could not find a resolution with Huntington over what Mr. Peck characterized as “technical breaches of the loan agreement.” Documents filed in U.S. District Court reveal that Huntington made loans to the company and an entity called 5777 Grant LLC, which owned the property under construction, in December 2011. According to one of the bank’s court filings, “within three months, the borrower breached various covenants of the loans related to renovations of the property located at 5777 Grant Ave.” Huntington, in a court filing, stated that a report from Cleveland Corporate Services revealed that as of Oct. 31, 2012, the company was $830,000 “out of formula,” meaning See CORPORATE Page 25

Redwood’s growing base will include the 55-and-over set Developer’s latest offerings will include community in Hudson By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com

Redwood Management Co., a Beachwood-based developer and manager of single-family rental communities, is tackling its second project in the Columbus market

and is making its first foray into the Indianapolis market. However, the owner and operator of 3,000 one-story apartment homes scattered throughout northern Ohio is not abandoning its home turf. The company is constructing its first community limit-

ed to the age 55-and-over set, in Hudson, and it plans to add a new phase at a North Ridgeville project it launched in 2011. David Conwill, Redwood’s chief development officer, said the company acquired its second site in the Columbus market last Wednesday,

INSIDE: RestoreCleveland buys NASA Glenn north campus for $1.2 million in auction. Page 4 Feb. 20, and its first site in Indianapolis earlier this month. Redwood plans to build a 92-unit community in Johnstown near Columbus and 100 units in Indianapolis. Redwood’s first project near Columbus was a 100-unit

complex in Pickerington. In addition, Redwood is scouting for sites in Michigan, Mr. Conwill said. “We love Ohio, but want to take our concept to other areas,” he said. “We see contiguous states as opportunities for us because they are similar to Ohio.” See REDWOOD Page 24

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RestoreCleveland plans to do just that to NASA Glenn north Property in Fairview Park was purchased for $1.2M in auction By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com

With a winning bid of $1.2 million in an auction run by the General Services Administration, an affiliate of the RestoreCleveland Co. real estate development firm stands to become the next owner of the two-building NASA Glenn north campus in Fairview Park. William Gallagher, a spokesman for Cleveland-based RestoreCleveland, said GSA has notified his group it won the auction, besting three other bidders. The principals of RestoreCleveland and an investor group soon will form a limited liability corporation to hold ownership of the property, Mr. Gallagher said. Cat Langel, a Chicago-based GSA public affairs officer, confirmed by email that Mr. Gallagher’s group is the high bidder for the NASA Glenn property. GSA expects to close the sale within 90 days. True to its name, RestoreCleve-

land wants to renovate the buildings to attract new tenants. The group hopes to draw aerospacerelated businesses, general office tenants or corporate headquarters to the site at 21000 Brookpark Road. “We will do whatever we can to get the property occupied and thriving for everyone,” Mr. Gallagher said in a news release. In an interview with Crain’s, Mr. Gallagher said principals of RestoreCleveland had joined with a group of local investors he declined to identify to buy the redevelopment site. RestoreCleveland previously has restored old buildings in Cleveland’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood near downtown. Fairview Park Mayor Eileen Patton said in a news release that the suburb believes the project is “extremely important for the wellbeing of Fairview Park and its residents.” The suburb lost about $400,000 yearly in income tax receipts when NASA Glenn consolidated its operations outside the Fairview Park site to the south side of Brookpark Road, which is in Brook Park. The two buildings NASA wants to shed include a total of 200,000 square feet of offices on nine acres.

They date from the 1960s. One of the buildings is K-shaped, Mayor Patton said, reflecting the idea that John Kennedy was president when they were constructed. The properties include an auditorium, cafeteria and other amenities that will be helpful in restoring the complex to use. Mayor Patton said investor groups from California and Texas had quizzed the city about the property. However, she said she is encouraged because a local group was the high bidder. “We think they will act more quickly,” she said. GSA’s online auction of the federal property began last August with a minimum bid of $200,000. Mr. Gallagher said his investor group believed it could not pay “much more” than its final bid for the site. He estimates it will take about $3 million to ready the site for commercial tenants, even though the structures are well-built and in generally good condition. Mr. Gallagher declined to identify the private investor group that will join RestoreCleveland in the project. RestoreCleveland’s other principals include Mr. Gallagher’s brother, Martin Gallagher, and partner John Elias. ■

New Polyflow unit close to completion By FRANK ESPOSITO Plastics News

Recycling technology company RES Polyflow of Akron will have its first full scale plastic-to-chemicals unit up and running by the end of March. The unit represents an investment of $5 million to $6 million for Polyflow. It will be located in Perry, in Lake County, near the facilities of Niagara Systems, the company that’s designing and building the unit along with Chemstress Consultant Co. of Akron. Once the unit is fully operational, Polyflow officials will need to decide whether to build a plant around the unit or transfer it to a location chosen from several interested customers, CEO Jay Schabel said in a Feb. 7 phone interview. “We have to decide where (the unit) will be most profitable,” he said. Polyflow’s pyrolysis technology

melts down any type of plastic scrap at nearly 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The vapor then is condensed into a liquid slurry that contains aromatic chemicals. The liquid can be reused by petrochemical companies or in paint, coatings and solvents. Polyflow currently is using plastic scrap from numerous sources, including compounding leader PolyOne Corp., Hiram College, the city of Stow and a local military base. The company has collected about 65,000 pounds of plastic scrap in the last three months. Company officials previously said a full-size reactor unit will be able to process 5,000 pounds of mixed plastic scrap per hour and would produce 3 million gallons of chemical liquids per year. Four full-time employees are working on the Polyflow unit. If a plant measuring 20,000 to 25,000 square feet is built, Polyflow would

need to hire 30 more employees, Mr. Schabel said. Plant construction would add $5 million to $6 million to the cost of the project, according to Mr. Schabel. Polyflow won a $1.6 million state grant in 2011 and received a similar-size investment last year from private equity firm Ambassador Enterprises LLC of Fort Wayne, Ind. Mr. Schabel said Ambassador now owns a minority stake in Polyflow. He declined to identify other investors. Another state grant of $600,000 will fund the construction of a fuelanalysis lab that will be used by faculty and students from Youngstown State University. That lab will test the liquids produced by the Polyflow unit and will be located on the Youngstown State campus. ■ Frank Esposito is a senior reporter with Plastics News, a sister publication of Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Volume 34, Number 8 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, except for combined issues on the fourth week of December and fifth week of December at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230. Copyright © 2013 by Crain Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices. Price per copy: $2.00. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Crain’s Cleveland Business, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48207-2912. 1-877-824-9373. REPRINT INFORMATION: 800-290-5460 Ext. 136

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150 E. Market Street, Akron, Ohio Lease or Sale • • • •

33,000 Total Square Feet Ample Free On-Site Parking Borders University of Akron Located in Akron Biomedical Corridor

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3 , 2013

Weston is keen on prospects for downtown development Company adds to its Cleveland holdings by buying building at 300 Prospect Ave. By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Jack. W. Drescher, CPA, SIOR G. F. Coyle III, SIOR 216-861-7200 www.ostendorf-morris.com

Weston Inc., a large real estate owner and developer based in Warrensville Heights, has established a tiny foothold in downtown Cleveland’s resurgent heart. Weston has purchased a fourstory commercial building at 300 Prospect Ave.; the investment surfaced as the building’s first-floor tenant, Family Sportswear, mounts a store-closing sale set to end Feb. 28. Through Weston-CMG JV, Weston shelled out $300,000 for the old building last Oct. 31, according to Cuyahoga County land records. Asked about the acquisition, Weston spokeswoman Suzanne Broadbent wrote in an email, “I am not free to comment on this at this time — the time is not quite right.” Best known as an industrial developer with downtown parking lot interests, Weston is diversifying its operations by building apartments in suburban Pittsburgh and serving as a consultant to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in the pending move of its executive offices. Weston also was a finalist in the competition to create a new headquarters for Cuyahoga County. Its

STAN BULLARD

Weston Inc. has purchased the four-story commercial building at 300 Prospect Ave. downtown for $300,000. proposal for a building in downtown’s Warehouse District lost out to Geis Cos.’ plan to construct a new headquarters on part of the old Ameritrust complex. Weston’s purchase of the building at 300 Prospect has nothing to do with Family Sportswear’s decision to close, according to Jared Jones, the store’s manager and a 21-year employee. Mr. Jones said the store no longer was receiving early supplies of Nike Inc. shoes that made it a hotspot in the city’s black community. Other factors for the closing are increased competition for on-street parking spots and rising parking rates in the neighborhood due to the expansion of downtown offices and last May’s opening of Horseshoe Casino Cleveland. With its investment, Weston has staked a claim on one of the bestlocated blocks of underutilized properties near downtown’s sports and entertainment districts. Three other buildings on the block are empty, including the beloved Goldfish Army-Navy store. Although the structures are eyesores now, Terry Coyne, an execu-

tive managing director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Cleveland office, called the block crucial in future development of the area near the casino, arena and ballpark. Mr. Coyne, who often has handled lease and sale transactions with Weston, said he does not know what Weston’s plans for the site might be. Older properties on the block could be converted to in-demand loft apartments that would capitalize on state and federal historic tax credits. Tom Yablonsky, executive director of History Gateway Neighborhood Development Corp. and vice president of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance nonprofit, said the building is architecturally and socially significant, because 300 Prospect was an early home of famed music store owner Leo Mintz’s Record Rendezvous. According to “The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History,” the store was a sponsor of the late radio disc jockey Alan Freed, who is credited with coining the phrase “rock and roll” for the music genre that emerged from the rhythm and blues popular in the black community. ■

COMING UP Ideas at Dawn will discuss workers’ compensation

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Workers’ compensation is the focus on the March 7 Crain’s Ideas at Dawn Business Breakfast, set for the Embassy Suites at 5800 Rockside Woods Blvd. in Independence. The business breakfast is titled, “Workers’ COMPrehension: Dynamic Insights to 2013 Workers’ Comp and Healthcare Savings.” Panelists are Bud Andrako, president of Andrako Associates, and Steven Oddo, president of Diversified Employee Solutions. They will identify tools to lower workers’ comp premiums while protecting

employers in the face of injury. Tim Magaw, Crain’s Cleveland Business health care reporter, will serve as moderator for the panel. Registration and breakfast is from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., with the program running from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Single tickets are $40, and tables of eight are $275. All tickets must be purchased in advance of the event. Walk-ins will not be accepted. To register, go to www.crainscleveland.com/breakfast.

■ Crain’s on Twitter: @CrainsCleveland ■ Crain’s on Facebook: Facebook.com/CrainsCleveland ■ Crain’s daily e-newsletters: CrainsCleveland.com/register

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Silicone Solutions doubles its space, and might not be done By BRUCE MEYER Rubber & Plastics News

Silicone Solutions has moved into a new plant in Cuyahoga Falls that roughly doubles the space it had in its previous location. The company spent $500,000 on its new factory and invested another $300,000 on equipping and renovating it, according to David Brassard, founder and president. The site sports roughly 11,500 square feet, compared with between 5,000 and 7,000 square feet at the leased building it vacated in Twinsburg. Silicone Solutions wanted to buy its former home and take over additional space, but Mr. Brassard and the owner of the site couldn’t reach terms. So he enlisted a real estate agent who identified 15 to 20 buildings in the region that were roughly the right size, though many of them would have required a bit of work. “This was the most expensive and didn’t require that much,” he said. However, Silicone Solutions did do a fair amount of work to customize the building to its needs. Mr. Brassard said the investment included installing a color laboratory, quality control lab, physical test lab and a maintenance area, plus constructing a new dock with a larger door to accommodate deliveries. Silicone Solutions also purchased the contents of a research-anddevelopment lab and located that to the new building. Even with the extra space, the company still is a bit tight in its new digs. “We own land to the south of us so we can build out,” Mr. Brassard said. “I hope not to do that, but you do what you have to do for continued growth.”

Secret formula Mr. Brassard started Silicone Solutions in 1996 as what he calls a “technical firm” to address problems using silicone technology. It offers consulting services; supplies customized formulations of silicone adhesives, sealants, gels and coatings; and offers its own line of high-performance products, including one- and twopart room-temperature vulcanized silicones using both addition and condensation cure systems. It doesn’t try to compete with big silicone elastomer suppliers in the commodity end of the market, focusing instead on high-end uses that yield higher margins, said Mr. Brassard, who spent time at both GE Silicones and Loctite Corp. before launching his own business. That philosophy is evidenced by the price of some of its products. One of its standard silicone lines runs nearly $1,700 for a standard 10-ounce cartridge. So far, the formula seems to be working. Mr. Brassard said the family-owned company— nearly half of the 13 employees are related or extended family — boasted sales of $5 million in 2012 and may come close to doubling that this year. “We’re not necessarily a marketing firm,” Mr. Brassard said. “We address problems and we solve them. Most firms are marketing firms or sales firms and they say, ‘Here’s our product, buy them.’ We say, ‘What do you need and we’ll custom make it.’ I think that’s been our success route because we’re filling niches that no one else is interested in.”

Known commodity As a matter of business practice,

Silicone Solutions has carried little or no debt throughout its history and generally doesn’t need to advertise. “We’re fairly well known now in the industry,” he said. “If anyone in the industry needs something fairly unique, we’re the company to come to. If they need something that’s not available, that’s what we do. We can make it glow in the dark, we can make it float. We’ve done a lot of interesting things over the years.” Much of its growth last year and this year is coming from a silicone adhesive sold into the solar industry in China. The standard silicones didn’t have high enough strength, so Silicone Solutions developed one that more than exceeded needs, Mr. Brassard said. The company exported 570 barrels of the material to China last year, and this year the customer there is projecting that it may need about 1,100 barrels, he said. However, Mr. Brassard will guard against Silicone Solutions growing too rapidly. “Too fast a growth is never any good,” he said. “We were very busy last year. Our margins are high enough where we don’t have to scurry around.”

Silicone Solutions founder and president David Brassard said his company has made quite a few investments in its new plant, which spans 11,500 square feet in Cuyahoga Falls. BRUCE MEYER

Not afraid to try About one-third of the projects Silicone Solutions embarks on develop into products that it makes for the customers. Many of those are quite unusual, he said. One example is a washer with bright orange silicone injected into it that is used on skyscrapers. The washers withstand 80,000 pounds of torque when tightened. Mr. Brassard said when the torque hits the right range, the orange silicone is forced out the back and squirted all around. At this point, an inspector on the ground can use binoculars to see the orange around the holes, ensuring that the washers are tightened properly. The silicone becomes sticky for one hour, then dries up and falls out, according to Mr. Brassard. Coming up with solutions like this is the part of the job he obviously enjoys. “Some folks do crossword puzzles,” he said. “I like a challenge, and it keeps me thinking.” During his time at Loctite, co-workers dubbed him the “Wild Man,” because he never hesitated to try something different. “By following that philosophy, that’s how I’ve come up with all those developments over the years,” he said. “If you’re doing everything the same as everybody else, you’re not going to come up with anything new.” Another sliver of the business — roughly 10% — involves Mr. Brassard selling technology. “If a manufacturer wants to do it themselves I’ll teach them how to do it,” he said. “I’ll set them up and wave goodbye. I’ve set up many firms to manufacture silicone. I have no problem doing that.” A couple of years back, he authored and published “The Silicone Elastomer Handbook: A Guide to Applied Silicone Elastomer Technology.” The book is more elementary in nature, and Mr. Brassard said he is about one-third of the way through a second, more advanced volume on the subject. ■ Bruce Meyer is managing editor of Rubber & Plastics News, a sister publication of Crain’s Cleveland Business.

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JobsOhio: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Revitalization projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are crucial aspects of plan continued from PAGE 1

that will net JobsOhio about $100 million a year to use to bring jobs to the state. In the deal, completed Feb. 1, JobsOhio used long-term bonds to buy the profits from the state liquor business. That transaction has drawn legal challenges that postponed the bond sale. The Ohio Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether a lawsuit opposing JobsOhioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s use of the liquor profits can proceed, but the governor decided to go ahead with the bond sale anyway. A key part of the $100 million will fund what John Minor, president and chief investment officer of JobsOhio, called â&#x20AC;&#x153;revitalization projectsâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; former factories or vacant land once used for chemical processing or manufacturing that come with environment problems. These loans and grants would allow urban areas to offer growing businesses land at a price that can compete with so-called greenfield properties in undeveloped areas. They will replace money awarded under the Clean Ohio program, which expired last year. In addition, Mr. Minor said JobsOhio will roll out its own programs of low-cost loans and grants that

will serve as financial incentives to help businesses grow. It also will tap into several tax credit programs that will remain in place under the new state Development Services Agency. But, he said, those incentives no longer will play a central a role in how Ohio attracts jobs.

On second thought ... Although he wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t call it a change in policy, Mr. Minor described a strategy that mirrors recent statements by Gov. Kasich expressing doubts about the effectiveness of large-scale incentive packages. During an end-of-the-year press conference with Statehouse reporters, Gov. Kasich explained how he had changed his mind on using financial incentives to attract and keep companies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If (youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a business and) you want to leave Ohio and you say (to me), â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re leaving if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give us help,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; that program is off the board,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? the governor said, according to The (Youngstown) Vindicator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Believe me, there are CEOs that call me. I say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Look, if you want to leave, I hope you have a nice trip.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; You know whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funny?

They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave. Then they want me to get in a bidding war with somebody in another state.â&#x20AC;? In 2011, the governor was stung when Chiquita Brands International Inc. decided to move its headquarters from Cincinnati to Charlotte, N.C. The city of Charlotte offered a package of financial incentives valued at $22.7 million. Ohioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s package was less than $6.5 million. An aide to Gov. Kasich said at the time that the state would not have recouped in new tax dollars the investment it would have had to make in a reasonable period of time. Edward Hill, dean of the Cleveland State University Levin College of Urban Affairs and an adviser to state economic development efforts, said Gov. Kasich wants to move in a different direction. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is clear from statements the governor has made that he is not enamored with pure incentives unless there is a long-term investment that is a result,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Hill said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The governor, as a matter of economic philosophy, would rather see Ohio spend its money investing in its competitive assets, such as infrastructure, talent and technology, and let the market decide how to

Keynote Speaker: Jodi Berg President and CEO, Vitamix Corporation

use them.â&#x20AC;? A return-on-investment approach, originated by Mr. Minorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s predecessor, Mark Kvamme, now is a part of the JobsOhio DNA. So instead of leading with incentives, Mr. Minor said, JobsOhio will be emphasizing broader issues when it pursues new businesses or expansion projects. It will focus on initiatives to train the work force of the future and on the promise of an improved climate for business that administration officials maintain would result from Gov. Kasichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new tax reform plan, which would lower income taxes for most businesses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to get into bidding wars with other states,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Minor said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to not lead with incentives. We want to lead with the attractive business environment Ohio offers companies.â&#x20AC;?

Too much stuff About $43 million of the $100 million JobsOhio can spend annually for economic development programs will go toward revitalization projects, Mr. Minor said. The planned allocation to land revitalization is a big change in the Kasich approach to economic development. The Kasich administration let the former program, Clean Ohio, die last year without assurances that it would be picked up by JobsOhio. The death of Clean Ohio disappointed older cities such as Cleveland, which couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t offer an expanding business a piece of land that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have some kind of environmental contamination in need of a costly cleanup. Few companies are willing to risk building on land

The Charles Spahr Lecture & The Institute for Sustainable Business Practice present

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or renovating buildings that might have concealed asbestos or chemical contamination that could cost thousands â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or millions â&#x20AC;&#x201D; of dollars to bring up to current environmental standards. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Initially, they were not enamored with the Clean Ohio program because it was an expensive program,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Hill said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But now (Gov. Kasich) is seeing that if you want to take disadvantaged parts of the state and put them back in play, you need an inventory of land. Unless you clear stuff off the land, it has negative value.â&#x20AC;? Clean Ohio offered communities as much as $3 million in loans or grants for remediation projects â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a number JobsOhio might match, Mr. Minor said. But Mr. Minor said the new program will prefer to invest with companies that will occupy the cleaned-up properties. Such an emphasis still puts the state at odds with strategies used by Cleveland and other older cities. Tracey Nichols, Clevelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s director of economic development, said for the city to compete in attracting business expansion, it needs to clean up properties before it has an end user. Often, Ms. Nichols said, companies donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to commit to a move if they must wait a year or more for an environmental cleanup before they can begin construction or renovation. But JobsOhio is going to be reluctant to make a grant without an end user committed to a property. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to have our projects (attached) to new jobs that are coming in,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Minor said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Is everything going to be tied to that? Not necessarily. But that is going to be our key focus.â&#x20AC;? â&#x2013;

Tuesday, March 5, 7:00â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8:30 pm Chuck Fowler &(2 )DLUPRXQW Minerals

Baldwin Wallace University Center for Innovation and Growth 330 Front Street, Berea, Ohio 44017 Fairmount Minerals is on a successful, on-going journey to sustainability, embracing a â&#x20AC;&#x153;triple bottom lineâ&#x20AC;? approach of â&#x20AC;&#x153;people, planet, and prosperity.â&#x20AC;? This approach has enhanced SURĂ&#x20AC;WDELOLW\ DQG UHYHQXH JURZWK HQJDJHG its growing workforce, strengthened external stakeholder relationships, and positioned WKH Ă&#x20AC;UP IRU WKH IXWXUH &(2 &KXFN )RZOHU shares Fairmountâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story to encourage others to join the sustainability movement. Mr. Fowlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk is free and open to the public.

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3 , 2013

PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR:

Brian D. Tucker (btucker@crain.com) EDITOR:

Mark Dodosh (mdodosh@crain.com) MANAGING EDITOR:

Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com)

OPINION

Whoa

ov. John Kasich is fond of saying that he wants Ohio to be known as a businessfriendly state. That message would be muddled, though, if the Legislature was to enact the governor’s plan for significant tax changes in the next budget biennium. The part of the plan that works against the friendof-business theme is Gov. Kasich’s recomm endation that the state lower the sales tax to 5% from 5.5% but broaden the base of businesses subject to the tax. At present, most service businesses are exempt from the sales tax; the governor is proposing that only a few service providers be exempt from the tax going forward. Gov. Kasich has said expanding the sales tax to services is a recognition that the economy has shifted dramatically from the sale of goods to the sale of services. Yet, despite this trend, most states still restrict their sales taxes largely to the purchase of goods. Adding Ohio to the short list of states that tax most services wouldn’t be a selling point for economic development officials as they go about their business retention and attraction efforts. It also could produce what Larry Oscar, CEO of the Hahn Loeser & Parks law firm, called “unintended consequences.” For example, Mr. Oscar wonders whether a multistate law firm would tend to handle more of its legal work outside Ohio rather than in a state where it would need to charge clients sales tax. It’s unclear to what extent a broader sales tax would help pay for two tax cuts proposed by the governor; one would lower personal income tax rates by 20% over three years, while the other would slash by 50% the tax small business owners pay on their first $750,000 of income. However, we wouldn’t want to see personal tax rates reduced if the tradeoff is applying the sales tax to the vast majority of service businesses. If Gov. Kasich insists on extracting tax revenue from a host of businesses that now enjoy a tax break, we’d recommend — as we have multiple times in the past — a change in the state’s commercial activity tax. Apply the CAT to the first $1 million in annual taxable gross receipts brought in by a business, rather than collect just $150 on that first million, as is the case now. Hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax money would result without the imposition of a regressive tax on consumers of services. And if the governor and his friends in the Republican-led Legislature really want to get serious about tax reform, they should heed another call we’ve made in this space and should undertake a comprehensive review of all the dubious, special-interest business tax breaks that have piled up on the state’s books. Despite making noise that they want to do away with many tax giveaways, neither Gov. Kasich nor lawmakers have made a legitimate attempt at reducing the number of tax credits, deductions and exemptions for business that have been written into the tax code. Instead, they’ve added to them over the last year. If the governor wants to find revenue to justify income taxes cuts, closing these tax loopholes is the place to start.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Fractured thinking over fracking Shale. remember my days as an Associated And this is how silly it can get. Last Press staffer in the San Francisco week, The Vindicator in Youngstown bureau when we’d get yet another reported that the city’s council was press release from the city of likely to put on the May ballot a Berkeley, across the bay, about citizen-organized charter yet another declaration of BRIAN amendment that would ban nuclear non-proliferation or TUCKER hydraulic fracturing, or “fracksome other-worldly topic that ing,” in the city. meant little to the governance This idea was floated even of its citizens. though the city’s law director “Got another hot one from said the amendment as prethe People’s Republic of Berkesented would conflict with state ley,” a jaded desk editor would regulations and would be unchime in, wondering when the enforceable. That doesn’t matcouncil there had time to worry ter to Frack Free Mahoning Valabout minutiae such as trash ley, an anti-drilling group that the pickup and sewer rates. newspaper said had gathered about It happens, sometimes with locally 4,000 signatures, well above the 1,562 elected councils. I don’t know if it’s a valid signatures needed. desperate act of self-rationalization or a The Ohio Department of Natural Reneed for nonstop publicity, but every so sources has made it clear that the state often they stray from the reservation and has total control over hydraulic fracturstart “taking positions” on issues that ing, or any other type of drilling. The state might stir the pot, or rattle a few of their Legislature approved laws years ago that more strident supporters. removes regulation from local communiWe’re seeing it play out across Ohio as ties, for a host of logical reasons. construction continues on the infraThis is what the government-by-petistructure for the fast-growing oil and tion movement has given us (thank you, natural gas development of the Utica

California). A group that can raise enough money or volunteer energy to get enough signatures can get an inflammatory issue on a ballot, despite its likelihood of ever being used once it’s passed. In Brunswick, one of that community’s solid manufacturing firms, Philpott Rubber, has seen strong growth in a division that supplies some chemicals used in fracking. That city’s council is considering a resolution voicing concerns over the chemicals used in the fracking process. Philpott CEO Mike Baach said his new division is key to the company’s future, even its survival, and he’s concerned about the message the council resolution would send to other companies interested in Brunswick. All this, just as Ohio’s manufacturers — lifted by the boost from the shale industry — are coming back strong, and the state’s unemployment level is well below the national average. How much sense does it make to give so much time and energy to protesters who have nothing to accomplish, other than keep their organizations’ names in the media? ■

LETTER

Summit hid threats posed by shale drilling

eaders of Crain’s Cleveland Business and all Ohioans need to know the whole truth about fracking — not the biased portrayal presented at the recent Shale Summit co-sponsored by Crain’s and public broadcasting organization ideastream. Consider: shaky economics, demonstrated environmental hazards, and misguided assumptions. First, shale/fracking may be based on faulty economics. In Rolling Stone magazine, Jeff Goodell cites Arthur Berman, a respected energy consultant in Texas, who says that the business operations of fracking corporations “resemble a Ponzi scheme, overhyping the promise of shale gas in an effort to recoup their huge

WRITE TO US Send your letters to: Mark Dodosh, editor, Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 e-mail: editor@crainscleveland.com

investments in leases and drilling. When the wells don’t pay off, the firms wind up scrambling to mask their financial troubles with convoluted off-book accounting methods.” (“The Big Fracking Bubble: The Scam Behind Aubrey McClendon’s Gas Boom,” Rolling Stone, March 1, 2012.) The oil and gas industry has a long history of overestimating resource reserves. According to Deborah Rogers, a respected economist, only about 10% to 20% of

wells drilled are profitable. The fracking business plan may be more about constantly reselling leases and wells to investors and traders than about producing gas. (See Deborah Rogers, “Shale Promise or Shale Spin? The Economics of Hydrofracking,” Bill Huston’s Blog, Feb. 7, 2012.) As for demonstrated environmental hazards, there is abundant scientific evidence as well as thoroughly documented incident reports of environmental damage in communities where fracking has already been occurring. This includes contamination of groundwater, air and soil with resulting serious public health impacts. See LETTER Page 11

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CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM

THE BIG ISSUE Will sequestration be a disaster for the economy or a necessary first step for the federal government to start getting spending under control?

MILDRED ELLINGTON

BRYAN FALK

NICI WORKMAN

PAULIUS NASVYTIS

Cleveland

Strongsville

Cincinnati

Cleveland

They might want to start with their paychecks. If they cut programs, it will hurt little people like me, the working poor. For the economy, it will be horrible.

I think short term it will impede the economyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recovery. Long term, the cuts are absolutely necessary. The areas they have identified for cuts are not the ones I would cut. The social safety net certainly needs to be maintained. Do away with the fluff.

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think it will be disastrous for the economy. It will have a short-term impact with reduced income for federal employees and on consumer spending. Long term, budget cuts are desirable and necessary.

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see how sequestration can benefit anyone or anything. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unfortunate our political system is so gridlocked we have this going on. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a sad state of affairs. We have too many clenched fists in this.

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Steelyard Commons set to add Aldi By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com

The fast-expanding discount grocer Aldi soon will become the latest addition to the lineup at the Steelyard Commons shopping center near downtown Cleveland. A spokeswoman for Aldi Inc. said the company plans to build the store and open it later this year. It already operates 15 stores in Cuyahoga County, she said. Its most recent store in the region opened in early 2012 in Macedonia, according to Aldiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website. Plans for the store on Steelyard Drive near the Jennings Road

entrance to the 700,000-square-foot shopping center were approved Feb. 1 by Cleveland City Planning Commission. Mitchell Schneider, president of Steelyard developer First Interstate Properties of Lyndhurst, said he is thrilled to add another food-oriented grocer to Steelyard and to increase choices for consumers in the city of Cleveland. The store will join at Steelyard a Target and the only Walmart Super Center within the city limits. Aldi constructs small-format stores in the 17,000-square-foot range. It specializes in proprietary products to drive down costs. The Germany-based chain now has

more than 1,200 stores in the United States and expects to add 50 to 80 stores this year, but the spokeswoman could not provide an estimate for how many additional stores would be in Northeast Ohio. A report by RBC Capital Markets Inc. ranks Aldi as the third fastestgrowing supermarket and grocery store in the United States in terms of plans to add stores in the next two years. Keith Hamulak, a retail specialist at CBRE Group Inc.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cleveland office, said he believes Aldi will be a good addition to Steelyard because of the density of the population it serves. â&#x2013;

Letter: Communities should be protected continued from PAGE 10

(For example, see â&#x20AC;&#x153;Human health risk assessment of air emissions from development of unconventional natural gas resourcesâ&#x20AC;? by Dr. Lisa MacKenzie, et. al., Colorado School of Public Health.) Ohio needs to learn from states that have already been negatively impacted by fracking. Just look at the fracked communities in Pennsylvania. (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chesapeake to Pay $1.6 Million for Contaminating Water Wells in Bradford County,â&#x20AC;? by Susan Phillips, June 21, 2012, as reported online in State Impact, a reporting project of local public media and NPR.) Then there are misguided assumptions, such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;fracking in Ohio is inevitable.â&#x20AC;? This is not certain at all. Many, many acres of land in Ohio are not under lease for fracking extraction, and as long as they remain so, fracking canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen in those areas. Landowners can stick together to protect their communities until such time as this technology is proven safe, before they gamble away their homes and health.

The Western Reserve Land Conservancy, which participated in the Shale Summit, would be smart to apply this cautious approach to all those acres given to them to â&#x20AC;&#x153;conserve.â&#x20AC;? The conservancy should take serious time to study the environmental aspects of fracking, which their executive director stated that he has not done. (See SOI Interview, Feb. 4, 2013). There also is the assumption that Ohioans will benefit from fracking. Some, especially corporations, will benefit in the short term, but Ohioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s communities will suffer from lasting damage that likely will include: â&#x2013; production and injection wells with cracked and failed well casings, leaking methane and toxic substances; â&#x2013; ruined safe drinking water sources (wells, ponds, rivers, aquifers, etc.); â&#x2013; disrupted local economies; â&#x2013; reduced property values; â&#x2013; disrupted and compromised ecosystems from clear cutting for well pads, pipelines, roads, and compressor stations; â&#x2013; loss of farms and farmland;

â&#x2013; loss of outdoor recreation venues; â&#x2013; degraded public health (asthma, cancer, and endocrine disruption); and â&#x2013; billions of gallons of toxic and radioactive waste injected into the ground beneath our feet. Indeed, fracking has a deep, dark side. Do we really want to roll the dice and subject Ohio families to all these hazards? We hope that Crainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and its readers, will look at the work of serious critics of fracking including Deborah Rogers, Arthur Berman, Dr. Anthony Ingraffea, Dr. Yuri Gorby, James Northrup, Dr. Theo Colburn, Dr. Sandra Steingraber and many others. A good place to start online is www.neogap.org, the website of the Network for Oil and Gas Accountability and Protection (NEOGAP), an Ohio group that is helping citizens understand the threats posed by fracking. Ron Prosek Network for Oil and Gas Accountability and Protection Faith Communities Together for Frac Awareness

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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GOING PLACES JOB CHANGES DISTRIBUTION DAR-TECH INC.: Brett Walburn to president; Walt Walburn to chairman. JENNE INC.: Neil Sidorak to controller.

ENGINEERING

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R.E. WARNER & ASSOCIATES INC.: Alex E. Marks to survey crew chief. WISS, JANNEY, ELSTNER ASSOCIATES INC.: Michael Nagle to associate principal.

FINANCE VALLEY SAVINGS BANK: William Flinta, Marilyn Jacob and Debbie McMurray to senior vice presidents; Patti Denham and Aaron Barnhart to vice presidents; Lisa Ohler to assistant vice president.

FINANCIAL SERVICE APPLE GROWTH PARTNERS:

Jeffrey D. Brooks to senior manager; Logan O’Sicky to tax associate; Scott McClain to information technology. COHEN & CO.: Donna Jenkins, Josh Morris, Rachel Roan, Andrea Arney, Anthony Dargaj, John Graham, Michael Schultz and Laura Sefcik to staff accountants; Melissa Gallop and Will Michael to managers, tax; Sean Fox and A.J. Volpe to staff accountants, Cohen Fund Audit Services. D’AMORE TATMAN GROUP LLC: William D. Allamon to senior accountant; Katherina M. Lipinski to manager; John M. Diefenderfer and Jonathan M. Sevastos to staff accountants.

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SPECIAL REPORT: The Impact of Cleveland’s Global Center for Health Innovation and Convention Center

ERNST & YOUNG LLP: Julie Boland, Craig Brooks, Jim Klessel, Jerry Rudowsky and Alex Schmitt to partners; Salvatore Mileti and John Rodgers to assurance partners; Goble Sean Miller to partner. LEAGUE PARK ADVISORS: Wayne Twardokus to director. MALONEY + NOVOTNY LLC: Beth Markin and Jon Watts to managers; Sadie Goble and Katie Howard to Howard senior accountants.

LEGAL BROUSE MCDOWELL: Clair E. Dickinson, Meagan L. Moore and Elizabeth G. Yeargin to partners. TUCKER ELLIS LLP: John Favret, Justin Rice and Karen Ross to counsel.

MANUFACTURING LASZERAY TECHNOLOGY LLC: Julie Critzer to vice president, finance. SAFEGUARD TECHNOLOGY INC.: Patrick Manning to international account manager.

The long-awaited Medical Mart is opening in July. How will it affect Northeast Ohio’s meetings and events business? How will it affect your business? This special issue will be distributed to meeting and event professionals throughout the region. Don’t miss your chance to reach this bonus audience, in addition to Crain’s exclusive circulation to business decision makers.

MARKETING ADCOM GROUP: Dean Ilijasic to vice president, insights and account planning. GLAZEN CREATIVE STUDIOS: Devin Cathcart to account manager.

Advertising Information: Nicole Mastrangelo at 216-771-5158 or nmastrangelo@crain.com

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senior director, collective impact.

REAL ESTATE STOUFFER REALTY INC.: Joanne Zettl to market development regional manager.

RETAIL BUEHLER’S FRESH FOODS SUPERMARKETS: Rich Szymanski to manager, Medina Forest Meadows; Laura Pope to manager, Brunswick. CLINE CELLARS AND JACUZZI FAMILY VINEYARDS: Keith Morris to vice president, national sales manager.

STAFFING DIRECT RECRUITERS INC.: Kasey Fahey to health care IT project coordinator. STAFFING SOLUTIONS ENTERPRISES: Megan Shaffer to account manager; Rachel Creasy to customer experience manager.

TECHNOLOGY BLUEBRIDGE NETWORKS LLC: John Meyer to systems engineer; Chris Marino to account manager.

TRANSPORTATION FLEET RESPONSE: Jodie Varner to director, business development.

BOARDS FIRST TEE OF CLEVELAND: Craig Donnan (Deloitte) to chairman.

AWARDS

COMMUNITY CARE NETWORK AND CLEVELAND CHRISTIAN HOME: Jim McCafferty to CEO.

AMERICAN RED CROSS, GREATER CLEVELAND CHAPTER: Kevin Goodman (BlueBridge Networks LLC) received the 2012 Red Cross Community Volunteer Hero Award and the 2012 Red Cross Hero Award, Greater Cleveland People’s Choice Award.

HANNA PERKINS CENTER FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT: Jeannine Lehman to finance director.

PRIMEGLOBAL: Laura Culp (Brockman, Coats, Gedelian & Co.) received the Tax Planner of the Year Award.

UNITED WAY OF SUMMIT COUNTY: Beth Boggins to senior director, major gifts; Nichole Booker to

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THINK MEDIA STUDIOS: Mary Hipp to director of marketing.

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3, 2013

INSIDE

20 TRI-C LOOKS FOR ‘THE BEST’ IN ITS SEARCH FOR A NEW PRESIDENT.

HIGHER EDUCATION

CHARTING A PATH TO SUCCESS

MARC GOLUB

Baldwin Wallace student Jen Evans, center, has received help from both Margaret Stiner, director of academic advising, left, and Amy Jo Sutterluety, right, professor of health and physical education. For more, see Page 15.

Universities are placing an increased focus on advising, recognizing its role in promoting student, institutional goals By SHARON SCHNALL clbfreelancer@crain.com

ollege graduates often recall their adviser as a person who helped with class scheduling, one who confirmed that graduation requirements were met. “Registration is something important that advisers do, but that’s a small piece of what we do,” said Charity Snyder, director of University Advising at Kent

State University. “We don’t want the focus to be that narrow in the student’s mind.” Yes, academic advisers (also known as professional advisers and professional academic advisers) are nonfaculty personnel who counsel on academic matters, albeit a broad range. However, they also help students with navigating institutional processes and mapping a path toward graduation, as well as personal matters and long-term decisions. “We are asking them, ‘What do you want

to do with the rest of your life?’ ” said Susanne Miller, senior academic adviser at Youngstown State University. “There are much bigger questions going on than, ‘What are you taking next semester?’ ” In recent decades, the position has evolved, becoming more visible as an entity, collaborating with on-campus colleagues, and recognized as a significant contributor toward student and administrative goals. See SUCCESS Page 14

Recruitment efforts are at root of STEM programs Colleges reaching out to younger students, promoting, preparing them in technical fields By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com

ortheast Ohio’s colleges and universities are priming their admissions pumps with whiz kids who excel in science, technology, engineering and math — or the STEM fields — years before they set foot on a college campus. Some have gone as far as helping launch middle and high schools dedicated to STEM education on or near their campuses, while others have focused on rounding out programs that target young learners in hopes of piquing their interest in

disciplines related to science and math. Most recently, Cleveland State, with the help of a $1.25 million grant from the KeyBank Foundation, in January announced plans to open a STEM school for 11th- and 12th-graders in conjunction with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Also, last fall, Northeast Ohio Medical University in conjunction with the Rootstown Local School District opened a STEM high school on the medical school’s campus. Additionally, the University of Akron in conjunction with the Akron Public Schools, the City of

Akron, Greater Akron Chamber and Akron Tomorrow opened the STEM middle school at the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron. Last fall, the same partners opened a STEM high school at the site of the former Central-Hower High School, which the university acquired from the Akron Public Schools through a swap of hundreds of full-ride college scholarships valued at about $40,000 apiece. “We’re growing our own honors students for the University of Akron,” said Susan Ramlo, a professor and special projects coordinator for STEM education initiatives at the university. If Gov. John Kasich has his way, the funding formula for higher education in the state of Ohio is expected to shift from being based largely on enrollment toward

rewarding institutions with high degree completion rates. Given that students with STEM backgrounds are more likely to graduate, higher education officials expect a surge of new outreach efforts in the coming years. “Everybody wants the better students,” Dr. Ramlo said. “Why not help K-12 schools provide better education? That gives us an opportunity then to hopefully recruit those students who will have great experiences at the University of Akron.”

Get ’em young While many university officials such as Dr. Ramlo admit recruiting well-prepared students is a key driver for college and university investments in STEM, they also say there is an altruistic element

to the moves. Educating students in the sciences, they say, breeds an informed citizenry and could create jobs in the long run. “This isn’t just about recruitment for us,” said Erik Porfeli, NEOMED’s assistant dean for community engagement and admissions. “If it was just about that, we probably wouldn’t invest as much as we are. When it comes to STEM, you have very bright and motivated students if given some opportunity and some direction can do great things before they enter the work force.” Dr. Porfeli said in addition to the on-campus STEM school, the university operates a number of outreach initiatives aimed at fostering an interest in science at a young age. See STEM Page 15

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Success: Advising relationships can impact retention, persistence continued from PAGE 13

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The engagement a student has with an institution is the key to get them to graduate and graduate on time,â&#x20AC;? said Charlie Nutt. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Academic advising is critical to teach students how to get engaged, how to get involved.â&#x20AC;? Dr. Nutt is executive director of the National Academic Advising Association, a Manhattan, Kan.based organization with more than 11,000 members in the United States, Canada and 25 other countries. He also is an assistant professor of education in the department of counseling and special education at Kansas State University. Additionally, he said, other factors have impacted the adviserâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s significance as a university player, including academic research on successful advising models, the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to professionalize the position and economic factors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we have seen significant changes in our economy and in our work force needs, colleges and institutions are being held to higher standards in regard to the graduation and completion rates of their students, in fact in many states, like Ohio, institutions are being funded partly on their graduation and completion rates, not just their enrollment numbers,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Nutt said.

Team efforts Administration recognition of advising as a central player toward

meeting institutional goals has impacted advising resource deployment and job duties at some institutions, especially as it relates to student outcomes, including timely graduation and reduced transfer and dropout rates. At Kent State University, University Advising was created in 2011. That office, Ms. Snyder said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;will not centralize all advisory functions but is standardizing what does not need to be different, making the experience similarâ&#x20AC;? for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;fluidâ&#x20AC;? student who changes majors, uses different campuses or learns through on-campus classes one semester, then online the next. Last year, 17 full-time equivalent adviser positions were filled at Kent State University; the majority were newly created, Ms. Snyder said. Since the 2010-2011 academic year, the University of Akron has hired 18 new professional advisers, said W. Michael â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mikeâ&#x20AC;? Sherman, senior vice president, provost and chief operating officer. Hiring more advising professionals supports advising initiatives, reduces the adviser-to-student ratio, improves student services, increases the timeliness and frequency of accessibility and ensures successful student completion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not just looking at attracting and enrolling students but graduating citizens,â&#x20AC;? said Nancy Roadruck, assistant vice president of student success at the

University of Akron. Advising can vary between institutions and among the units of each institution. Students may strictly work with a faculty adviser, full-time employees who teach. Elsewhere, students work exclusively with professional academic advisers, whose key function is student advising. With some programs, a faculty adviser is assigned to a student upon declaring a major. In some cases, a student has both faculty and professional academic advisers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In my ideal world, the advising model would be a relationship between the faculty adviser, the professional adviser and the student. Everyone would have a role to play,â&#x20AC;? Ms. Snyder said.

Prep work Professional advisers are described as the detail people, the resource people. They help students make decisions toward a major and graduation, and are the campus conduits, for example, to career services, financial aid, tutoring and mental health counseling. They transition freshmen through firstyear unknowns. They are technology experts, coaching students to manage online accountabilities. Faculty adviser counterparts are considered mentors: experts connected to the field, helping students formalize major and career decisions. At Baldwin Wallace University in

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Berea, the typical faculty adviser to undergraduate student caseload is a 20-1 ratio, said Margaret Stiner, director of academic advising and an adjunct English professor. At Notre Dame College in South Euclid, a faculty caseload is a 25-1 ratio, said Anna Zaks, director of student advising. Both institutions employ a faculty advising model. According to academic and industry literature, advising impacts persistence, a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to continuously enroll in subsequent semesters at the starting institution. Advising also impacts retention, graduating within a completion rate prescribed at four years, six years or some other timeframe. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re seeing significant movement that is truly looking at how we prepare, from Day 1, to help students graduate in four years,â&#x20AC;? said Dr. Nutt of the National Academic Advising Association. Clearly, advising is an important component of ensuring student retention and improving graduation rates. And advisers have become vital contributors toward maximizing those outcomes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you can keep the caseload down and allow the adviser to be more proactive and advise the students, they will stay,â&#x20AC;? Ms. Roadruck said.

Spreading the wealth But, undergraduate caseloads of professional academic advisers

can be substantial. The average student-to-adviser caseload at Kent State University is a 340-1 ratio, Ms. Snyder said; the University of Akronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is a ratio of 340-400-to-1, Dr. Sherman said; and at Youngstown State University it is approximately a ratio of 500600-to-1, said Bill Buckler, coordinator of academic advising and associate professor of geography. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Believe it or not, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doable,â&#x20AC;? Ms. Roadruck said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In that caseload, there are students who need to touch base, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need remedies.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doable, in part, because students can be reached by largescale means. Freshmen orientations are the norm, held before the incoming semesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start. At Notre Dame College, during the school year, faculty and advising staff speak about the advisory process at firstyear seminar classes. Twitter and Facebook, marketing campaigns and targeted emails also make it doable. So, too, do virtual capabilities. The University of Akron is testing web conferencing capabilities for use by the advising units. Final implementation and full availability is expected by the end of 2013. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can think outside of the normal one-to-one advisory appointment. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that importance of touching base, of making connections by another means,â&#x20AC;? Ms. Snyder said. â&#x2013;

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Students still must stand on their own

ere are the facts: Jen Evans is a senior at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea. She is pursuing a bachelor of arts degree with two majors: one in pre-physical therapy, the other in public health. She also is pursuing two minors: biology and orthopedic assessment and treatment. She has a 3.99 grade point average. She will attend Ohio State University, starting this June, to pursue a doctor of physical therapy degree. Her undergraduate goals are being steadily reached. Sound straightforward? Perhaps. Was it? Hardly. Ms. Evans said she considered seven majors in her freshman year alone. She was assigned three faculty advisers before connecting, as a sophomore, with adviser Amy Jo Sutterluety, professor of health and physical education and program coordinator, exercise science and pre-physical therapy. As she considered majors, Ms. Evans sought additional advising from Margaret Stiner, director of academic advising and an adjunct English professor. “I’m graduating on time,” Ms. Evans said. “It’s possible to make changes.” Ms. Evans credits the advisory experience not only with shaping her curriculum configuration, but also with facilitating ongoing exploration. On a practical level, it connected her with professional resources. Next month, for example, she and Dr. Sutterluety — whom Ms. Evans describes as a role model and friend — will attend a fitness conference in Las Vegas. Utilizing advisers has been fruitful, but a bit tortuous. Ms. Evans said she recognized that advisers did not provide all the answers; the ensuing dialogue, while ultimately productive, was also frustrating. “I knew their role was to ask me

“We don’t just want to tell the students what to do; we want to help them plan.” – Bill Buckler, coordinator of academic advising and associate professor of geography, Youngstown State the right questions, but I was hoping it would be otherwise,” Ms. Evans said. Ms. Stiner asked open-ended questions. At one point, Ms. Evans said she thought, “How is this getting me anywhere?” It did. “After leaving her office, I had a clearer sense of who I was and what I wanted,” Ms. Evans said. “Ultimately, it’s your decision and no one’s going to give the answers to you except yourself.” That sentiment is voiced by other advising professionals. “We don’t just want to tell the students what to do; we want to help them plan,” said Bill Buckler, coordinator of academic advising and associate professor of geography at Youngstown State University. “We just want them to be prepared.” Consider the freshman student, who is not adept with initiating and maintaining conversations with an adult; previous academic discussions may have been limited to a parent, high school teacher or guidance counselor, said Anna Zaks, director of student advising at Notre Dame College in South Euclid. The student-empowerment philosophy, therefore, helps students acquire critical thinking and communication skills. “The higher the student’s standing, the more we expect them to do for themselves,” Ms. Zaks said. “We tell them, ‘I will help you, but I will not do it all for you from start to finish.’ ” — Sharon Schnall

STEM: Colleges partner with high schools continued from PAGE 13

About two years ago, the university and its partners launched its Health Professions Affinity Community — or HPAC — program, which is geared toward middle and high school students who have an interest in health care careers. The HPAC program partners with Northeast Ohio schools and community organizations and helps students identify health problems, such as diabetes, in their communities and create action plans to help tackle that problem. Others involved with the program are Kent State University, Cleveland State University, the University of Akron and Youngstown State University. “Our goal on a larger level is to do what we can as a state university to advance the health and the economic prosperity of our region,” Dr. Porfeli said. “We’re in a uniquely strong position because there are so many jobs available in health care, and health care is directly responsible for the health of a community.”

Cleveland State, meanwhile, in 2005 launched Fenn Academy, a program that partners with area high schools to pique students’ interest in engineering, according to Gregg Schoof, the university’s manager of engineering student programs. The program helps design engineering programs at the high school level and so far has partnered with 42 high schools. Some of the businesses supporting the effort include Lubrizol Corp., Ford Motor Company, Parker Hannifin Corp. and Middough Companies. Mr. Schoof attributes in part the surge in enrollment in the university’s engineering program to the Fenn Academy. Last year’s engineering freshman class, he said, increased 33% over the previous year, and projections for next fall call for a 50% hike in the number of students.

CWRU’s big plans With the help of a $2 million endowment, Case Western Reserve University last month launched the Gelfand STEM

Center, a clearinghouse of sorts for the university’s outreach efforts in the STEM arena. Programs under the center’s umbrella include a series of camps to spur an interest in science and medicine. With the infusion of new funding, the center plans eventually to launch additional programs, according to James Bader, the center’s director. “It gives us some liberties we haven’t had previously,” Mr. Bader. “It is a phenomenal opportunity when you don’t have to write a grant for everything you do.” Mr. Bader said he would like the center to do more outreach to students’ families to help them instill how rewarding a career in a STEM field can be. And if they choose not to pursue a career in a STEM discipline, there is still value in helping create a population literate in the sciences. “We don’t have to be fancy,” Mr. Bader said. “This work is just the type where you roll up your sleeves and get it done. It’s just hard work to reach out to the kids and provide opportunities.” ■

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PLACESOFNOTE A look at Northeast Ohio’s interesting spaces

LCCC University Partnership Ridge Campus By AMY ANN STOESSEL astoessel@crain.com

arlier this month, a lone student could be seen sitting in one of the classrooms at Lorain County

Community College’s newest location in North Ridgeville. But despite appearances, he wasn’t flying solo: The student instead was participating in a University of Toledo class taking place miles way.

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The distance-learning session — held in one of the interactive video distance learning classrooms at LCCC’s University Partnership Ridge Campus — is illustrative of the newly constructed learning center’s overall technology focus. In addition to housing the Toledo school’s computer science and engineering partnership program, it soon will be home to a LCCC patient simulation learning center and other information technology coursework. Students attending the University of Toledo program through LCCC were the first, on Jan. 7, to begin using the 46,000-squarefoot, three-story building on Lorain Road, located just off Interstate 480 and in close proximity to the Ohio Turnpike. More students gradually are being added to the mix, with another LCCC session scheduled to start today, Feb. 25. The $12.5 million location is the fourth outpost for LCCC, which also has a presence in Lorain, Wellington and Brunswick, in addition to its main campus in Elyria. “What we’re really focused on is providing the education and training necessary,” said Peggy Michener, University Partnership Ridge Campus coordinator. “We’re really working to give students the education to fill the skills gap.”

Technically speaking Ms. Michener said research by the school showing a need for more IT-educated people in Northeast Ohio helped drive the decision to construct the building and center its uses on technology. Additionally, the school is committed through its University Partnership programs to providing students a variety of educational pathways, linking to both bachelor’s

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ABOVE: Lorain Community College has opened a new, 46,000-square-foot location in North Ridgeville. LEFT: Students attending the University of Toledo program were the first to begin using the new facility.

degree and master’s degree options with 12 institutions statewide. The University of Toledo’s computer science and engineering curriculum is a bachelor’s program that can be completed in its entirety at the new facility in Lorain County. Students are dually enrolled and dually admitted to LCCC and UT, said Adrienne L. Aguilar, a University of Toledo program manager at LCCC. While the university partnership is a key element of the new building — so much so, it’s part of the name — it also will be home to other expanded technology offerings. ■ The patient simulation learning center, for one, will open in mid-March and will feature the capability to put allied health and nursing students through lifelike scenarios. It also will be available for use by area health care professionals and emergency responders. ■ Classes in computer information systems and computer maintenance and networking will be able to take advantage of the newest available technologies, including a hands-on server room where students can have access to working with routers and switches. ■ The Advanced Digital Forensics Institute will serve as an extension of the school’s already established digital forensics program, which in part specializes in teaching students how to recover computer data. Such skills can be used as part of investigations into crime or fraud and within a variety of sectors, such as banking and law.

A new venture for LCCC, the Advanced Digital Forensics Institute will give students experience while they are doing work-for-hire, said Hikmat Chedid, professor of engineering technologies. That space also will be available for lease. “We’re hearing from employers they need specialized individuals,” Mr. Chedid said.

The big picture The new North Ridgeville location — for which LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification will be sought — has two conference rooms and 15 classroom spaces, with a capacity for 400 students at any time. A computer lab also is on site for public and student use. All services that are available on the main campus, including assessments, advisers, orientation, financial aid, billing and tutoring, will be offered at the University Partnership Ridge Campus. LCCC as a whole has experienced a more than 120% increase in enrollment over the past decade, according to information on the college’s website. Its Elyria campus was designed for 6,600 students and is now serving more than 16,000 students per semester. However, Ms. Michener said the intent is not necessarily to move students, but to expand the school’s offerings and to draw new students. “We’re constantly looking at the needs that are out there,” she said. “We want to provide a career path.” ■

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Oberlin gets down to business with Scholars program By KIMBERLY BONVISSUTO clbfreelancer@crain.com

When companies go in search of leaders, the job description usually includes “critical thinker,” “creative problem solver” or “great communicator.” But there are some who believe traditional business schools can be too narrow in focus, failing to challenge students to question the status quo, think creatively or effectively communicate at varying levels. Indeed, a 2011 study from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching — “Rethinking Undergraduate Business Education: Liberal Learning for the Professions” — concluded that integrating liberal arts into the business curriculum creates intelligent, ethically grounded leaders. Ten years ago, when Stewart A. Kohl and Béla Szigethy, co-CEOs of private equity firm The Riverside Co., funded the inaugural Oberlin Business Scholars Program at Oberlin College, one of their aims was to draw more of that liberal arts school’s students into business. The month-long winter program immerses participants in an intense series of workshops and site visits, teaching students the intricate workings of mergers and acquisitions, hedge funds and venture capital, as well as accounting, consulting and public relations. Mr. Kohl said he and Mr. Szigethy recognized there was a perception that an Oberlin graduate did not have the same knowledge access to the business world as other schools. “We felt the Business Scholars program was a very tangible way to address that,” he said, adding that it also provided a way to nurture the interests of high-quality liberal arts students in business. “At the start of it, we thought the world would be better off if more Oberlin-type students ended up in business. They have a background in critical thinking and also a prospering set of values to live their lives,” Mr. Kohl said. “We had a feeling that would be a good thing for business. It would also be a very good thing for Oberlin if we changed the perception some people have — that if you go to a school like Oberlin, you are disadvantaged.”

Kohl

Szigethy

could explain in plain terms what they did every single day,” she said. “My eyes lit up about investment banking. I didn’t really appreciate what the job entailed.” After working at Bear Stearns and Riverside in New York, and

obtaining her MBA from Harvard Business School, Miss White ventured out on her own by starting Bookalokal.com, a food and travel startup headquartered in New York. She has not forgotten her roots, volunteering nearly every year since graduation to participate in the Business Scholars program. She said the Oberlin connections and the mentoring the Business Scholars program fostered elevated her to where she is today. “The Business Scholars program created almost like a mini business school network within Oberlin,” Miss White said.

Learning curves Dana Perry, executive vice president and chief financial officer of advertising agency BBDO New York, is a 1983 graduate of Oberlin. Although the Business Scholars program was not in place when he was a student, he sees it as a great way for companies to gain access to “bright kids” and a way to give back to his alma mater. He has hosted the program, used Oberlin students as interns and hired graduates. “People that go to classic business schools are very good at the technical part of business —

accounting and finance,” Mr. Parry said. “The Oberlin graduates can learn that, and in addition to problem solving skills, that goes a long way.” Richard T. Berman, director of the Oberlin Career Center, said while there is not a large mass of Oberlin alumni who go into the business and finance, those who do a “very accomplished as they approach mid-career and beyond.” “They’ve done well and done well by doing good, whether it’s socially responsible investing or just the way they do private equity work,” he said. ■

Mini business school network Mr. Kohl, of Shaker Heights, and Mr. Szigethy, of New York, both 1977 Oberlin graduates, continue to share their experiences with Oberlin students through the Business Scholars program, which is funded through alumni donations. About 10 to 15 students are accepted annually. This year, 12 students and more than 40 alumni volunteers participated in programs in Oberlin, New York and Chicago as it celebrated its 10th anniversary. Since its start, 150 students have graduated from the program. Evelyne White, who went through the inaugural program, said she explored internships in various fields, including music, law and government, but hadn’t found a niche. When someone suggested a career in consulting, she applied for the Business Scholars Program. For Miss White, it was a lifechanging decision. She said the program provided her with her first overview of opportunities available in business. “It got us in front of people who

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Presidential searches are exhaustive, complex but he noted Dr. Thornton has agreed to stay on board for a month or two should the search take longer. “You have to look for the best in the field,” Mr. Whitehead said. “We’re one of the premiere community colleges in the country. We’re optimistic the position will be attractive.”

Tri-C has big shoes to fill in Thornton; list of candidates will be extensive By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com

Jerry Sue Thornton’s announcement last month that she would retire from her post as president of Cuyahoga Community College sent shockwaves through Northeast Ohio’s higher education community, and many wondered who could fill the shoes being vacated by an individual who over the last two decades became a stalwart in the region’s civic affairs. Tri-C’s enrollment, for one, exploded under Dr. Thornton’s tenure, with its student body surging from 23,000 students on three campuses to 32,000 on four. She also presided over a swath of ambitious construction totaling about $300 million, which included a new campus in Westlake, two Corporate College campuses and an academic center in Brunswick. Given the changing nature of a college presidency and the pressure of replacing a top executive of Dr. Thornton’s standing, experts in executive searches say the quest for Tri-C’s new leader isn’t going to be an easy haul. In fact, such searches are rarely a breeze given the complex governing structure of higher education institutions and the array of stakeholders —

Tri-C’s search

RUGGERO FATICA

Cuyahoga Community College hopes to have a replacement for retiring president Jerry Sue Thornton — shown in 2010 — in place by July 1. faculty, students, staff, trustees — who have skin in the game. “When you come to the end, the final selection a search committee would recommend to a board of trustees should be a decision that can be celebrated across the campus,” said Thomas Courtice, a senior search consultant for AGB Search, a Washington, D.C.-based executive search firm specializing in higher education, and a former president of Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. “Given the nature of governance, a new president needs to benefit by a consensus celebration to begin what is a very difficult leadership and management assignment.” David Whitehead, a Tri-C trustee who is chairing the search committee, said the plan is to have a new leader in place July 1,

Tri-C enlisted R.H. Perry & Associates, a D.C.-based search firm, to assist with finding its next president and plans to start reviewing applications March 14. Mr. Whitehead said the college is expecting more than 100 applicants and would recruit candidates who otherwise wouldn’t apply. That candidate pool could include individuals from community colleges, four-year institutions and the business and nonprofit communities. Mr. Whitehead, a former FirstEnergy Corp. executive and a well-known figure in Northeast Ohio business circles, has been involved in several executive searches over the years, but due to the special nature of an academic search, he’s enlisted Carol Cartwright, the former president of Kent State and Bowling Green State universities, to be “at my elbow as an adviser through the process.” “Academia is special in many ways,” Mr. Whitehead said. “You have to deal with a faculty, and an institution as large as ours has several labor unions. You also have to take into account the diversity of the community.” The role of the college president

is also evolving, which makes the search for a new leader even more complex. Many presidents in recent years having shifted their time toward more external efforts, such as fundraising or community engagement, rather than simply oiling the gears of the daily operations of the college, according to Ronald Abrams, president of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges. Dr. Abrams said Dr. Thornton excelled in that role, and he expects Tri-C’s next leader will likely have those qualities. “Dr. Thornton has been very good at that,” he said. “She understands what’s going on on campus but made that transition to be much more external. Any time an institution has an opportunity to bring in a new leader, they should keep in mind they can broaden that.”

A different breed? Baldwin Wallace University hired its current president, Robert Helmer, about a year ago after an exhaustive search that brought the small private university in Berea more than 80 applicants, according to Paul Carleton, chair of the university’s board of trustees. While the university employed a search firm, Mr. Carleton, who is the managing partner at investment banking firm Carleton McKenna & Co. in Cleveland, said “you don’t leverage them as much as you would in a corporate search.” Mr. Carleton said the firm or consultant’s role in a higher ed search, at least in Baldwin Wallace’s case, was to drum up interest for the job among candi-

dates. The search committee then “looked at every one of the submissions,” according to Mr. Carleton. Search committees for college or university presidents tend to run on the larger side, given the number of interested parties on a college campus in a president’s selection. As of last week, Tri-C’s had 19 members. “As a group, I think we can make sure we get the right person,” said Mary Hovanec, chair of the joint faculty senate at Tri-C and a member of the search committee. “We can’t replace her with an identical person, nor would you want to, but we’ll look at everyone in terms of what they can bring to the college.” However, Ralph Dise Jr., president of Dise & Co., an executive search firm in Cleveland, said there is a danger to having such large search committees. Mr. Dise recommends a group of no more than five, otherwise he said “you’ll have way too many opinions, and you’ll never be able to satisfy everyone.” Most importantly, however, search experts caution against benchmarking its applicants against Dr. Thornton’s lengthy list of accomplishments and instead look for an individual who can take the community college to greater heights. “The person can not replace Jerry Sue Thornton,” Mr. Dise said. “She has her own leadership style, own personality and amazing relationships she’s built over the years. The new person is going to be different than Jerry Sue Thornton.” ■

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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BRIGHT SPOTS Bright Spots is a period feature in Crain’s highlighting positive business developments in the region. To submit information, email Scott Suttell at ssuttell@crain.com. ■ Kip T. Bollin, a litigation partner at Thompson Hine LLC in Cleveland, was elected to serve on the Federal Bar Association’s 12-member national board of directors. The association represents more than 16,000 federal lawyers, including 1,200 federal judges, and serves as the national representative of the federal legal profession. Mr. Bollin also serves on the association’s national budget and finance committee, the membership committee, and as chairman of the task force for review of membership growth and benefits. He previously served on the association’s nominations and elections committee, and is a past president of the organization’s Northern Ohio chapter. Mr. Bollin focuses his legal practice on the defense of product liability and business claims, including putative class actions. ■ Stack Media, a Clevelandbased multimedia company targeted to high school athletes, and Sport Street Social Network of New York said they have formed a partnership that will allow users of Sport Street — a recently launched social platform for passionate sports fans — to gather and share video and editorial content from Stack. In addition, the partnership “will allow younger sports enthusiasts

and Stack to connect, engage and interact with like-minded fans on Sport Street,” according to a news release from the companies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sport Street uses social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to market its website and app. It also has more than 400 of what it calls “college brand ambassadors” who use their personal social networks of friends to spread Sport Street’s reach nationwide. ■ Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio is accepting nominations for its 2013 Arts, Education and Entrepreneurship Awards. Applications, which can be found at www.yaneo.org/awards, are due March 15. The awards are open to all Northeast Ohio residents or those who directly contribute to the vitality of the region. In the Arts category, candidates should make a significant impact on their artistic discipline; serve as a model for the power of the arts in everyday life; and foster interaction among children, adults or the community. In the Education category, candidates should demonstrate an understanding and appreciation for the arts in education; recognize the importance of imagination and creativity for the future of education; and contribute to the vitality and enrichment of education in Northeast Ohio. In the Entrepreneurship category, candidates should demonstrate leadership through creative

Kowit-led group purchases Lakewood Center North building for $3.4 million A local investor firm in WashingON THE WEB Story from ton, D.C., that group led by comwww.crainscleveland.com runs or invests in mercial real estate broker and investor Brad Kowit is distressed properties for and with the new owner of Lakewood Center lenders. North — the tallest office building in The purchase is the second bite the Cleveland suburbs — in a from the Lakewood apple for Mr. distress sale by a lender-led ownerKowit and his investors, whom he ship group. declined to identify. Mr. Kowit said in an interview last Mr. Kowit and Steve Passov, Friday, Feb. 22, that the new principals of their namesake Kowit owners will wait to determine the & Passov brokerage in Mayfield future of the half-empty, 15-story Heights, acquired the landmark INA building. Building, 14701 Detroit Ave. in “We’ve got to feel it out and live Lakewood, in 2009 in a different with it awhile to know what’s best,” partnership. The INA Building and Mr. Kowit said. “We certainly like it the adjoining Bailey Building since as an office building.” have been transformed as their However, he acknowledged at humdrum first floor — empty least two floors might be best used except for an insurance office — for something other than offices — was enlivened with multiple retail perhaps apartments, a hotel or retenants and eateries. tail. “We love Lakewood so much that Cuyahoga County records show we’ve decided to buy another Lakewood Center North LLC, a building. Lakewood’s really come group led by Mr. Kowit, on Feb. 20 back in the last few years,” Mr. paid almost $3.4 million for LakeKowit said. wood Center North’s 258,000 The Kowit-led group already has a square feet of office and first-floor lot riding on the building’s future. retail space. Land records show no mortgage The seller, 14600 Detroit Avenue was placed on the building, indicatHoldings LLC, was a lender-led ing a cash purchase. Asked if a group after the prior owner mortgage would be filed soon or if surrendered the keys in a “deed in it’s a cash deal, Mr. Kowit paused a lieu of foreclosure” filing in March minute before answering. 2010. The prior owner was led by “Good old greenbacks,” he said. — Stan Bullard CWCapital Asset Management, a

achievement; embody the intersection of innovation and entrepreneurship; and recognize the value and role of the arts in shaping and supporting entrepreneurial innovation. Winners will be honored at Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio’s 60th anniversary gala Sept. 27 and will receive a commemorative award, as well as a fund named in their honor for Young Audiences’ Fund for Their Future. Young Audiences bills itself as a multi-arts resource for schools in the region that make learning through the arts an essential part of young people’s education. ■ Fresh Fork Market, a weekly grocery subscription program, has something new for members this year: farm-raised venison. The venison will be available in cuts as well as ground meat. In addition, area restaurants will be able to buy local venison for their menus, according to Fresh Fork, which describes venison as a lean red meat that boasts lower cholesterol than chicken and is lower in fat than other red meats. Fresh Fork Market says it’s the first distributor of local venison in Ohio.

“It was not without its challenges,” said Fresh Fork owner Trevor Clatterbuck in a statement. “I love venison and our customers often ask about it. When we embarked on this project, there were no guidelines to follow — we had to help create them ourselves. It was a risk, but one we believed was worthwhile.” Mr. Clatterbuck said he asked some Amish farmers to raise whitetail deer for him. Then, he and an Ohio butcher began traversing the legal hurdles of offering venison for resale. “We jumped through a lot of hoops,” Mr. Clatterbuck said. “My butcher had to get an exotic animal processing license. We have to send samples of each animal to test for Chronic Wasting Disease. The whole process is new, so the rules had to be created.” ■ “Toy’s House,” a comedy shot last summer in Northeast Ohio that earned raves at the recent Sundance Film Festival, will be the opening night film at the 37th Cleveland International Film Festival. The film will kick off the festival on Wednesday, April 3. The opening night gala is sponsored by the

George Gund Foundation in honor of George Gund III, a Cleveland International Film Festival founding board member who died last month. “Toy’s House” is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and produced by Chagrin Falls native Tyler Davidson, whose credits include the acclaimed 2011 drama “Take Shelter.” It stars Nick Robinson, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie and Mary Lynn Rajskub. Cleveland International Film Festival officials described “Toy’s House” as “a unique coming-ofage story about three teenagers who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods.” “Toy’s House” recently was picked up for distribution by CBS Films. Tickets to the opening night gala are $125 per person, or $100 for Cleveland International Film Festival members. The event includes the film at 7 p.m. at Tower City Cinemas, followed by a “Toy’s House” party and celebration of the life of Mr. Gund at 9 p.m. at MK Ferguson Plaza in Tower City. This year’s festival runs from April 3-14.

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3 , 2013

LARGEST 2012 NE OHIO PHILANTHROPIC GIFTS RANKED BY GIFT AMOUNT(1)

Rank Recipient

Donor

Gift amount

Gift date

Purpose of the gift

Connection to recipient

Development contact Cash or Phone number commitment

University Hospitals

Harrington Family Foundation

50,000,000

Feb. 28, 2012 UH Harrington Discovery Institute

Generous benefactor, volunteers, board member

University Hospitals

Rainbow Babies & Children's Foundation

32,500,000

Dec. 14, 2012 Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital

Longtime benefactor

N/A

Sherri Bishop (216) 983-2200

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

14,000,000

Dec. 6, 2012

Cardiovascular registry, research and education

Grateful patient, volunteer leader

Cash

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

University School

T.L.L. Temple Foundation

12,000,000

July 2012

Academic wing

Alumnus

Cash and commitment

Jonathan E. Bridge (216) 831-2209

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

11,000,000

Education partner

Commitment

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

Case Western Reserve University

Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation

10,000,000

Sept. 2012

To support construction of a medical education and research building

Significant supporter of the medical school

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Case Western Reserve University

The Cleveland Foundation

10,000,000

Sept. 2012

To support construction of a medical education and research building

The foundation has supported significant university initiatives

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

10,000,000

Sept. 1, 2012 Pathology Laboratories building

Grateful patient, Cleveland Clinic trustee

Commitment

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

Cleveland Museum of Art

George Gund Foundation and the Gund family

10,000,000

the Campaign for the Cleveland Museum of Nov. 16, 2012 Transformation: Art (building and renovation)

Longtime supporters

Cash and commitment

August A. Napoli Jr. (216) 707-2154

The Cleveland Foundation

Estate of Charlotte B. Thompson

8,782,368

Nov. 28, 2012 Named fund, scholarship

Donor

Cash

Kaye Ridolfi (216) 861-3810

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

8,000,000

Dec. 21, 2012 Lerner College of Medicine

Grateful patient, Cleveland Clinic trustee

Cash

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

Cleveland Museum of Art

Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation

7,500,000

the Campaign for the Cleveland Museum of Aug. 22, 2012 Transformation: Art (building and renovation)

Longtime supporters

The Cleveland Foundation

Raymond Q. Armington Family Trust

5,600,000

Feb. 2, 2012

Akron Community Foundation

Medical Mutual of Ohio

5,000,000

Feb. 24, 2012 To establish the Medical Mutual Community Investment Fund

Case Western Reserve University

Anonymous

5,000,000

May 2012

To support the university library

Graduate

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Case Western Reserve University

Larry Sears and his wife, Sally Zlotnick Sears

5,000,000

Feb. 2012

To support creation of think[box], a campus center for innovation and entrepreneurship

Alumni

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

5,000,000

Sept. 1, 2012 Pathology and laboratory medicine research and education

Grateful patient, Cleveland Clinic trustee

Commitment

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

Cleveland Institute of Art

Peter B. Lewis

5,000,000

July 31, 2012

Campus modernization and unification project

Friend and longtime donor

Commitment

R. Michael Cole (216) 421-7413

Fund for Our Economic Future

The George Gund Foundation

4,000,000

July 12, 2012

Operating support

N/A

Brad Whitehead (216) 456-9801

University School

Marge and Dan Moore

4,000,000

Sept. 2012

Academic wing

Alumnus, trustee

Cash and commitment

Jonathan E. Bridge (216) 831-2209

Case Western Reserve University

Anonymous

3,500,000

Dec. 2012

To support initiatives of the School of Medicine

Friend of the university

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

3,487,745

Cash

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

University School

Anonymous

3,400,000

Sept. 2012

Academic wing endowment

Alumnus, trustee

Commitment

Jonathan E. Bridge (216) 831-2209

Case Western Reserve University

Anonymous

3,000,000

Nov. 2012

To support initiatives of the Case School of Engineering

Graduate

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Case Western Reserve University

Alvin and Laura Siegal

3,000,000

Sept. 2012

To support the Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program

Mr. Siegal is a graduate

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Case Western Reserve University(2)

Estate of Dorothy Ellen Ebersbach

3,000,000

Aug. 2012

To support the flight nursing program at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing

Graduate

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

3,000,000

Sept. 1, 2012 Pathology and laboratory medicine research and education

Grateful patient, Cleveland Clinic trustee

Commitment

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

Cuyahoga Community College

Tommy LiPuma

3,000,000

April 1, 2012

Endowment fund for equipment, music programs and scholarships

Longtime friend of the college

Commitment

Gloria Moosmann (216) 987-4788

University Hospitals

Anonymous

3,000,000

Jan. 6, 2012

To establish the Rainbow Legacy Leadership Campaign Endowment Fund

Generous benefactor

N/A

Sherri Bishop (216) 983-2200

University of Akron

Estate of Howard A. Haberkost

2,778,000

The Judge Clande and Thelma Emmons Internship, financial May 21, 2012 assistance to junior or senior students in the Department of Chemistry

Friend

Cash

Timothy R. DuFore (330) 972-7238

Case Western Reserve University

Anonymous

2,700,000

Two gifts in 2012

To support initiatives of the Case School of Engineering

Supporter of the university's research and education programs

Commitment

Lawrence Gibson (216) 368-4352

Akron Children's Hospital

Akron Children's Hospital Woman's Board

2,500,000

June 2012

Capital campaign

Committed volunteers and supporters

Cash and commitment

John D. Zoilo (330) 543-4450

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

2,500,000

Feb. 21, 2012 Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery research and education

Grateful patient

Cash

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

2,500,000

Feb. 21, 2012 Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery research and education

Grateful patient

Cash

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

The Cleveland Orchestra

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

2,500,000

Dec. 19, 2012 Special Artistic Excellence and Initiatives Fund

Longstanding national support of the arts

Cash and commitment

Anizia Karmazyn (216) 231-7551

Cleveland Clinic

Anonymous

2,369,235

May 24, 2012 Vascular surgery and endovascular techniques research

Grateful patient

Commitment

Kathryn DeLong (216) 448-0649

The Cleveland Foundation

Russell J. Ferree Fund

2,262,885

Feb. 28, 2012 Unrestricted fund

Donor

Cash

Kaye Ridolfi (216) 861-3810

University Hospitals

J.S. Rube

2,250,000

Nov. 19, 2012 Sleep medicine program

Generous benefactor

N/A

Sherri Bishop (216) 983-2200

Notre Dame College

Normandy Catering

2,075,000

fund, student financial aid, general building and Dec. 18, 2012 Annual construction

Friend of the college

Commitment

Maureen Ischay (216) 373-5335

school extension campus and graduate osteopathic April 30, 2012 Medical medicine education

Two funds; one designated, one restricted

June 22, 2012 Area of greatest need

N/A

Sherri Bishop (216) 983-2200

Cash and commitment

August A. Napoli Jr. (216) 707-2154

Donor

Cash

Kaye Ridolfi (216) 861-3810

Philanthropic partner

Cash

John T. Petures Jr. (330) 376-8522

Grateful patient

Source: Information is from the gift recipients with additional research by Crain's. Crain's Cleveland Business does not independently verify the information and there is no guarantee these listings are complete or accurate. We welcome all responses to our lists and will include omitted information or clarifications in coming issues. Individual lists and The Book of Lists are available to purchase at www.crainscleveland.com. (1) Donations to religious organizations were not included. (2) The estate gave a total of $5,000,000; a $2,000,000 commitment was received in 2011.

RESEARCHED BY Deborah W. Hil

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Club: Corporate sponsorships and revenues have been on rise continued from PAGE 1

“More importantly, it will feel different. “Historically, the City Club has informed, has provided a speaker pretty much in a passive way,” Ms. Danforth said. “Now, we’re talking about informing, motivating and engaging … creating opportunities for the conversation to continue.” In response to those who have told the City Club that they want to continue talking about the topics raised at its well-known Friday Forums, the City Club is considering offering virtual chat rooms and more events at times beyond Friday’s lunch hour and at places outside the club’s four walls at 850 Euclid Ave. It also will continue to expand its use of social media such as Twitter in order to reach a broader audience that can tweet observations about, and questions to, a given speaker as they speak. “Our online presence is pretty nominal at the moment,” Ms. Danforth said. “We’re on it (social media), but we haven’t managed it in a way that draws people into it.” The hope is, with a larger audience and new delivery platforms, the City Club can harvest fresh revenue streams in addition to the membership and sponsorship dollars it has pulled in historically. The strategic planning process began last fall, spawned by the desire to couple the City Club’s centennial celebration with an introspective strategic assessment, said Mr. Harris, a past president of the organization and secretary and

general counsel for KeyCorp. Currere Inc., a Cleveland consulting firm, was hired to ensure a result “that was going to cause the City Club to look different and better at the end,” Mr. Harris said. “We intuitively believed that what the City Club has been for the last 100 years has been important, respected and highly valued, but in that form, it was not going to sustain for the next hundred years because things have changed,” Mr. Harris said. “We needed to be responsive and try to stay ahead of that changing environment.”

On to the next 100 years The strategic plan approved by the board Jan. 28 contains several key objectives. One aim is strengthening the City Club’s staff and board leadership. Already, the organization has launched a search for the person who will replace Jim Foster, who this month announced his retirement after serving 20 years as the City Club’s executive director. The City Club’s partnerships also will be evaluated, Ms. Danforth said, as there’s opportunity for more collaboration with other nonprofit and for-profit organizations that also have speaker series to spread costs and expand audiences. As an example, Mr. Harris said the City Club could partner with a health care organization to provide a forum for ongoing conversation about a health care topic that begins with the City Club. Continuation of the discussion could be achieved electroni-

cally or via a live event, he said. To achieve financial sustainability — another strategic aim — the City Club will need to meet the demands of its new and emerging audiences while retaining its existing audience, Ms. Danforth said. The strategic plan prescribes a look at the City Club’s program format and a reconsideration of how it markets and manages membership. Younger professionals have said they are not as attracted to paying a membership fee as they are to providing philanthropic support, Ms. Danforth said. The younger crowd also has said it wants greater access, she said, noting that taking off a couple hours to attend Friday Forums can be tough for seasoned and green professionals alike. The strategic plan isn’t about gutting the history and traditions of the so-called Citadel of Free Speech, however. The Friday Forums, which still have “robust participation,” according to Ms. Danforth, will continue, as will live radio broadcast of them. But City Club leadership heard it loud and clear: There’s a desire to gather at other times. Finally, the strategic plan stresses elevating the City Club’s visibility and brand via, among other things, a marketing campaign.

An ‘ah-ha moment’ The City Club has taken notes from similar organizations across the country and found that some have fewer events with larger atten-

dance and greater community support, Ms. Danforth said. Added Mr. Harris: “That was probably the biggest ah-ha moment — the fact that in some communities, there was substantially more sponsorship.” To that end, the City Club has begun tapping into its corporate members in a “different, more vibrant, more expansive way,” Ms. Danforth said. Instead of offering a “vanilla” sponsorship package that gives a sponsor standard benefits including employee membership in the City Club, Ms. Harris said the organization is talking with sponsors to develop packages that are responsive to what they want. For example, a sponsor that isn’t in downtown Cleveland and isn’t going to send employees to Friday Forums instead may want a sponsorship package tailored to allow them to sponsor some number of forums in a given year, Mr. Harris said. In such cases, the sponsor could have tables and recognition at those events. Such tailoring had been done “episodically” before; now, the City Club is focused on it, he said. The City Club’s membership had been declining in recent years, though the number has stabilized, Mr. Harris said. From June 30, 2010, to June 30, 2011, individual memberships fell 5.5%, to 846 from 896, and membership revenues in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, dipped to $146,189 from $155,365 in fiscal 2010. However, membership edged up to 853 as of June 30, 2012, and revenues rose to $151,470 in fiscal 2012.

Fortunately, Mr. Harris noted, corporate sponsorships and related revenues have increased, thanks to the club’s successful Centennial Campaign. Sponsorships stood at 34 as of June 30, 2010, 39 a year later and 57 as of June 30, 2012, and sponsorship revenues more than doubled to $489,810 in fiscal 2012 from $233,975 in fiscal 2010.

Blending old with new A task force now will identify how to implement the findings and strategies of the new plan. It’s expected that some changes will be rolled out over the next couple months, Mr. Harris said. Hugh E. McKay, immediate past president of the City Club and a club member, is confident all of the plan’s parts will result in a “more energized, more relevant City Club.” He is particularly optimistic about the organization’s plans to target younger prospective members. “Frankly, historically, we’ve focused on and catered to more senior people,” said Mr. McKay, partner-in-charge of the Cleveland office of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, a law firm and corporate sponsor of the City Club. “We’ll certainly continue to cater to more senior folks, but the future of Cleveland, plainly, is with this relatively younger generation,” he said. “What’s particularly exciting about the strategic plan is how we are going to engage and harness the tremendous positive energy of the up-and-coming generation here because that is the future. That is the next hundred years.” ■

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Wellness: Local employers buying in continued from PAGE 3

Movable, the Brecksville startup that makes the MOVband, has had little trouble convincing school districts and businesses to buy them. The company sold nearly $1 million of MOVbands in 2012, its first full year in business, and it’s just getting started, according to founder and CEO Blake Squires. Though Movable got its start by promoting the brightly colored wristbands as a way for schools to interest kids in physical fitness, the company now is targeting what Mr. Squires said is a far bigger market: corporate wellness programs. “Corporate is really where this company will grow into a twenty-, thirty-, sixty-million-dollar business,” he said. Since the start of 2013, eight local employers have launched or committed to launching wellness programs that involve the MOVband. And the device is proving popular among the companies that have started to use it, said Mr. Squires, who previously helped start Findaway World, a Solon company that makes Playaway digital audio players. Employees who wear MOVbands easily can spot one another, so even nonathletes end up talking to each other about how many “moves” they have tallied on the device, which also gives them an estimate of how many miles they have walked, said Mr. Squires, who sold his Findaway World shares for an undisclosed price in 2010. “It’s no longer the group that would ride bikes on the weekend or the athletes talking in their different groups,” he said. “We create a cultural impact around health and performance.”

Well, well, well Once a company starts using MOVbands, the devices tend to catch on quickly, according to a few of Movable’s new corporate customers. Of the 300 or so people who work in the northern Ohio offices of Northwestern Mutual, about 60% actively are participating in the financial services company’s MOVband program, said Ms. Lann, chief operations officer for those offices. Ms. Lann, who is friends with Mr. Squires’ wife, Michelle, served as a

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Since the start of the year, eight area employers have committed to launching wellness programs involving the MOVbands. test customer for Movable. The MOVband, along with Weight Watchers, helped her lose 50 pounds after she had her third son, Ms. Lann said. That’s why she encouraged John Ertz, managing partner for the northern Ohio offices, to buy MOVbands for other Northwestern Mutual employees. He’s glad he did. The program is generating conversation and friendly competition among employees, which should help them become healthier and more productive, Mr. Ertz said. He noted that people in other Northwestern Mutual offices are starting to ask about MOVbands, too. “It’s spreading outside of our firm in northern Ohio,” he said. It spread quickly at Hyland Software, too: About 800 of the Westlake company’s 1,500 employees opted into its MOVband program. The turnout “far exceeded” expectations, said Anne Hartnett, wellness coordinator for the content management software developer. Real estate giant DDR Corp. of Beachwood bought about 150 MOVbands after wellness program manager Sarah Ezzie saw her kids wearing them. They attend Fernway School in Shaker Heights, one of more than 125 schools that use the wristbands. “They got so into it, just to see those numbers go up on the MOVband,” Ms. Ezzie said.

Nice price With financing from investment

firms Hatch Partners and Sea Dog Ventures, as well as individual investors, Movable launched the first version of the MOVband in September 2011. The amount of investment capital raised to date is “well into” the seven-figure range, said Mr. Squires, one of the partners behind Hatch. Movable, which has 11 full-time and four part-time employees, plans to raise more money this year, he added. Other companies also make wristbands designed to help people measure how active they are. For instance, there’s the Nike FuelBand and the coming FitBit Flex. Those devices have their advantages. For instance, they both can transfer data wirelessly to a computer; by contrast, transferring data from a MOVband requires plugging it into a computer’s USB port. However, the FuelBand costs about $150, and placing a pre-order for the FitBit Flex costs about $100. The newest version of the MOVband costs $30. Companies that want to collect activity data on Movable’s website and receive help managing a MOVband fitness program pay an extra $5 per employee, per year. Movable has held costs down by keeping the device simple, and by keeping a close eye of manufacturing costs, Mr. Squires said, noting that the MOVband is made in Shenzhen, China. “We’re really good at supply chain and manufacturing,” he said, citing skills he learned at Findaway World. ■

Redwood: Trails at Hudson community will rent out units starting at $1,700 per month continued from PAGE 3

Ticket inquiries: Denise Donaldson – ddonaldson@crain.com

FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3 , 2013

Mr. Conwill said the key for the company is finding available singlefamily and condominium-zoned land that communities will allow to be developed as one-family rentals. Closer to home, Redwood plans to open its first units in the Trails of Hudson in Hudson this May. Mr. Conwill said the company agreed to limit residents of Trails of Hudson to people age 55 and over to meet a requirement from Hudson. The 30-acre site Redwood is developing there was zoned for elderly housing. “We found that this fit our demographic, so we agreed,” Mr. Conwill said. He said Redwood’s rentals are suited to people who want to shed lawn work as they age and move to smaller homes after their children grow up, but still want to live in a single-family or cluster-home community.

The Hudson community takes its name from a bike and hike trail that runs next to the development. To satisfy Hudson’s open-space requirement, Mr. Conwill said the company donated 1.5 acres to Metro Parks of Summit County for a trailhead next to its project and the trail. Hudson Mayor William Currin said the project will be a welcome addition to the city. “With this project, Hudson will be able to meet the needs of more of its citizens as their housing requirements transition, as well as provide opportunity to new residents” to buy homes of aging residents, Mayor Currin said. Rents at Trails of Hudson, 5251 Hudson Drive, start at $1,700 a month, compared with about $1,100 at Redwood’s other communities.

Redwood this year also plans to construct 95 units in a second phase to the 76-unit Ridgecrest project on Bagley Road in North Ridgeville. Ralph McGreevy, executive vice president of the Northeast Ohio Apartment Association trade group, said Redwood’s founder and owner, Steven Kimmelman, has been successful with his concept over time. “Everyone has a different take on what people are looking for in rental housing,” Mr. McGreevy said. “Not everybody wants to be Associated Estates Realty Corp. or K&D Group.” Both firms operate large, often multistory, apartment buildings. In northern Ohio, Redwood owns 15 communities in locations as far east as Maumee and as far south as Wooster. ■

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TOA: Company’s employment has risen from 120 to 425 since 2008 continued from PAGE 1

That growth means a lot more, however, when it starts from a $20 million base, said chief technology officer Irad Carmi, who founded the company with CEO Yuval Brisker in 2003. “It’s easier to have very high growth when you’re a very small company,” Mr. Carmi said. TOA (pronounced toe-uh) isn’t so small anymore: The company today employs about 425 people, up from 220 in February 2011 and 120 in July 2008, according to figures from past Crain’s stories. In Beachwood, TOA employs 52 people, up from 30 at the start of 2012. The company also has a large software development office in Ukraine as well as several other offices throughout the world. Those employment numbers should continue to rise, Mr. Carmi said. “We’re going to end the year with well over 500 people,” he said.

Head in the cloud A few factors have helped accelerate growth at TOA. For one, the company entered the Latin American market in early 2012. Since

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TOA Technologies co-founders Yuval Brisker (CEO), left, and Irad Carmi (chief technology officer). then, it has sold its ETAdirect software to several new customers, including three big telecommunications companies: Cablemás of Mexico, Global Village Telecom and TIM Brasil, both of Brazil. TOA also has pushed to diversify its customer base over the last few years. A large majority of TOA’s early customers were big cable, phone and Internet service providers. Now telecommunications companies account for only half its clients,

Mr. Carmi said. Today it also counts utilities, insurance companies and retailers as customers. “We have companies that send out asphalt trucks to fill holes in the road. You just name it,” Mr. Carmi said. TOA also has been benefiting from a growing demand for “cloud” software, which are programs that companies access via the Internet, Carmi said. Of the 13 software companies that Gartner reviewed in its 2012 Magic Quadrant for Field Service Management report, only two — TOA and ServiceMax of Pleasanton, Calif. — originally designed their mobile work force management products to be delivered over the Internet, said William McNeill, a senior research analyst in Gartner’s Boston office. That early start gives them an advantage, Mr. McNeill said. “Vendors that started off as an on-premise solution and created a cloud-based version of their product are playing catch-up,” he said.

Looking for the eclipse For the first time, Gartner’s Mag-

ic Quadrant report put TOA in the “leader” category in 2012, meaning that it received high scores for both its ability to execute and its vision. Only one competitor, ClickSoftware, a publicly traded company in Israel, ranked higher. The report for years has given TOA high marks for its vision, but last year its execution score increased dramatically. Companies with high execution scores have proven that they can sell a good product and keep customers happy, Mr. McNeill said. Potential clients often know who those companies are before Mr. McNeill mentions them. Among other things, the 2012 report lauded TOA’s sales growth, the mobile version of its software and the release of ETAworkforce, a new product designed to work with Salesforce.com’s popular customer relationship management software. However, companies that want to do more than manage mobile workers should consider other products, the report stated. For instance, software giants Oracle and SAP offer mobile work force

management products that tie directly into bigger software systems that many businesses use to run their daily operations. Even so, TOA expects sales to keep increasing, Mr. Carmi said. “All the signs are that 2013 is going to eclipse anything before it,” he said. TOA recently started going after more midsize businesses, Mr. Carmi said. Late last year, the company released ETAdirect Professional, a version of its software designed for companies with a few hundred employees. Not that it has forgotten about the big clients. Customers such as Cox Communications are starting to renew contracts they signed years ago, said John Opdycke, vice president of worldwide marketing for TOA. Plus, the company is working to close several large new deals, each of which is bigger than any contract the company previously has won, Mr. Opdycke said. “Those kinds of deals will allow us to continue to grow and add people in Cleveland and all over the world,” he said. ■

Corporate: Business couldn’t obtain credit from suppliers continued from PAGE 3

it had borrowed $830,000 more than its collateral would support under terms of its agreement with Huntington. Problems with the construction project landed the company in trouble with its bank, said Harry W. Greenfield, a partner with Buckley King LPA and the attorney representing Cleveland Corporate Services in its bankruptcy. Mr. Peck said it was discovered in early 2012 that there was a significant problem with the design of the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system that

caused a cost overrun of about $800,000. He also revealed in an interview last Friday that 2012 was not a profitable year for the company. Mr. Peck said the company had enjoyed steady increases in sales for most of its more than 20 years in operations, but that sales dropped in 2012. He did not quantify the size of the decrease. Mr. Greenfield said Huntington stopped financing the construction loan, and Cleveland Corporate Services continued paying for the project through cash flow, which resulted in less available cash,

causing the company to become out of formula. Mr. Peck estimated that the project was probably 80% of the way to completion.

Cut off from credit Huntington’s bankruptcy attorney declined comment on the situation last Friday, and a Huntington spokesman said, “Because this matter is in litigation, it is Huntington’s policy not to comment. The proceedings are a matter of public record.” Records in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court show Hunt-

ington filed a motion for the appointment of a receiver for 5777 Grant LLC on Dec. 7 and that an order appointing a receiver was granted this month. Ultimately, Cleveland Corporate Services was unable to obtain debtor-in-possession financing, which is used to fund a company through Chapter 11 proceedings, and it was unable to obtain unsecured credit from its major suppliers, Mr. Greenfield said. The company was founded in 1989 as a business selling and renting audiovisual equipment. In 2000, it became a reseller for Smart

Technologies. In recent years, Cleveland Corporate Services developed TAP-it, an interactive platform for use with special needs students and teachers. In a letter posted on another business website, Mr. Peck revealed that TAP-it will continue to be offered through an entity called Westminster Technologies LLC, but that the company will not be a Smart reseller. “Our offering of special needs hardware, software and professional development services will be expanding in the coming months,” a letter signed by Mr. Peck states. ■

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FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3 , 2013

THEINSIDER

THEWEEK FEBRUARY 18 - 24 The big story: Summa Health System in Akron signed a letter of intent with Cincinnatibased Catholic Health Partners to create a strategic partnership. Terms remain to be worked out; officials at both Summa and Catholic Health Partners hope to complete their deal by mid-year. Tom Strauss, Summa’s president and CEO, confirmed the partnership will involve Catholic Health Partners taking a minority stake in Summa, though he would not specify the size of that stake. Summa will remain autonomous in operations. Catholic Health Partners will have a presence on Summa’s board commensurate with the ownership percentage. A boost for Brook Park: Ford Motor Co. announced it will spend nearly $200 million to retool part of its Cleveland Engine Plant in Brook Park for the production of small, 2.0-liter EcoBoost engines, beginning in 2014. That new work should bring employment at the plant from about 1,300 at present to more than 1,700, with Ford expecting to hire about 450 workers to make the new engine. Membership in United Auto Workers Local 1250 could climb from about 1,100 today to around 1,600, said Mike Gammella, president of the union local.

The Key to Victory: KeyCorp agreed to sell its investment management subsidiary, Victory Capital Management, to Crestview Partners, a private equity firm in New York that has teamed with employees of Victory to acquire it for $246 million. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter, and KeyCorp estimates the after-tax gain of the transaction will range from $145 million to $155 million. Key will seek regulatory approval to use the gain from the sale to repurchase shares of its common stock.

REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOK BEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS

Lettuce celebrate! A $17.5 million project that has been in the works since 2008 finally has sprouted in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood. Green City Growers Cooperative — a 3.25 acre urban hydroponic greenhouse— officially opens its doors today, Feb. 25, with much fanfare, including free lettuce wraps and salads prepared with lettuce grown at the greenhouse. The cooperative planted its seeds Dec. 12 and began harvesting its bounty Feb. 12. The year-round greenhouse, which already is producing 60,000 heads of lettuce each week, is expected over time to produce 3 million heads of lettuce and 300,000 pounds of herbs every year. “I think this is part of how Cleveland is reinventing and transforming itself. I hear from people all over the country, and people are excited about what Cleveland is doing,” Green City Growers CEO Mary Donnell said. At present, Green City Growers employs 25, most of whom are residents of the greenhouse’s surrounding neighborhoods. They soon will become employee-owners of the cooperative business and will share in its profits. The project had the support of several partners, including Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Cleveland Foundation, Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. — Timothy Magaw

On the up and up: Home sales in January were up in Northeast Ohio and statewide from January 2012, an increase that marked the 19th straight month where sales in Ohio improved over the like month the year before. According to figures from the Ohio Association of Realtors, home sales in the 17 counties in Northeast Ohio that are part of the Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange multiple listing service increased 8.4% in January, to 2,211 units from 2,039 in January 2012. Dollar volume of sales in the NEOREX market climbed 16%, to $255.1 million last month from $219.6 million in January 2012. Gift-giving season: University Hospitals received $14.5 million in new gifts, which will support the health system’s cancer and women’s hospitals. Kathleen Coleman, the wife of late Lubrizol Corp. CEO Lester Coleman, donated $7.5 million to the UH Seidman Cancer Center, and Barbara Peterson Ruhlman, the daughter of late philanthropist and industrialist Thomas F. Peterson, donated $6 million to the UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital. Ms. Ruhlman’s gift was matched by a $1 million gift from the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation. This and that:

Sherwin-Williams Co. reached an $80 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to settle a previously disclosed investigation of transactions related to the company’s employee stock ownership plan. The Cleveland-based paint maker said the agreement resolves all Labor Department claims regarding the company’s ESOP transactions.

Putting a lid on the gift of gab SUBMITTED PHOTO

Tom Gustafson, who boasts a storied last name in Cleveland’s commercial real estate market and 18 years at Ostendorf-Morris

Co., has joined Colliers International’s new Cleveland office as a senior vice president and principal. Mr. Gustafson said he switched firms because he was attracted by the chance to build a brokerage where he has an ownership stake and to expand his practice in the decade or more before he retires. O-M had been part of the international Colliers network, which brokers use to share out-of-market assignments, until the two firms parted ways in 2010. However, Mr. Gustafson said gaining work through Colliers was not a driving factor for his move. More important, he said, is his enthusiasm about participating in the momentum growing among the three Ohio Colliers offices. Owners of the Columbus and Cincinnati offices launched the Cleveland office last year. “This is a banner week for us,” said Brian Hurtuk, managing director and principal of the Colliers Cleveland office, of Mr. Gustafson joining the firm last week. He said Mr. Gustafson’s deep knowledge and network of contacts in Northeast Ohio business is invaluable. His late father, John Gustafson, was dubbed the “dean of Cleveland real estate.” The late Mr. Gustafson initiated the office

MILESTONE

BEST OF THE BLOGS

Chip off the old block makes a move

Bank on it: PVF Capital Corp., the Solonbased parent company of Park View Federal Savings Bank, agreed to be acquired by F.N.B. Corp., a bank with $12 billion in assets that is based in Hermitage, Pa. The definitive agreement provides for the acquisition by FNB of all the common stock outstanding of PVF Capital in a stock-for-stock transaction. The transaction is valued at $106 million.

practice as a specialty at O-M, where he owned a stake for many years. “I heard about office deals at the dinner table from as early as I can remember,” Mr. Gustafson said. — Stan Bullard

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald made a point of keeping his State of the County address last Tuesday, Feb. 19, before an overflow City Club of Cleveland audience at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, close to the 30-minute mark. That was in keeping with the tradition of the club, which long has broken up its 60-minute programs into equal parts speech and question-and-answer session. Last year, the county executive’s speech ran closer to 50 minutes. That left time for only one question, disappointing several questioners among the 900-plus people in attendance. So Mr. FitzGerald was surprised when the second question last week came from City Club program director Carrie Miller, who always does a little research in case she has to get the ball rolling when attendees are slow to frame questions. “I thought you worked here?” Mr. FitzGerald asked. “No one else wanted to ask a question?” “Nobody really expected to have the time for a second question,” Ms. Miller replied, as many in the audience — repeaters from last year — began a wave of laughter that included Mr. FitzGerald. With that, several questioners rose to the microphones to keep the conversation going. — Jay Miller (and yes, he’s Carrie’s dad)

Excerpts from recent blog entries on CrainsCleveland.com.

His Casa can be your casa COMPANY: Wallover Oil Co., Strongsville OCCASION: Its 150th anniversary P.M. Wallover founded Wallover Oil Co. in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, which the company says makes Wallover one of the oldest independent manufacturers of lubricants in the United States. The company takes the milestone seriously. It created a new logo for the landmark year, and its website now includes a blog, at www.wallover.com/blog, that traces the company’s history, according to president Eric Kielts. For instance, a Feb. 13 blog post noted that as soon as Mr. Wallover started his first refinery, “he began experimenting with a lot of different types of oils. As a result, Wallover provided the first signal oil used on the Ohio River, and he conducted a lot of experimentation with wool oils. John D. Rockefeller was building pipelines on behalf of his company, Standard Oil, so transportation of oil from Pennsylvania to the rest of the Union was made more convenient.” Today, Wallover has three manufacturing operations in the United States, and its products are distributed nationwide. The company has achieved ISO 9001-2008 certification. A year ago, Wallover bought Commonwealth Oil Co., located in Harrow, Ontario, to expand its presence into Canada and to add important niche markets. In the past year, Wallover has added to its sales team and expanded its warehouses to better serve customers throughout Canada, the company says.

Send information about significant corporate anniversaries to managing editor Scott Suttell at ssuttell@crain.com.

■ House names aren’t what they used to be. Forget the era of Graceland, Fallingwater and Mar-a-Lago, The Wall Street Journal said. In their place: Casa de Kraftmaid, among others. “Once lofty, associated with grand mansions and reflective of the physical environment or a family name, (house names are) now just as apt to be quirky and to appear on little shacks,” the paper notes. The names these days “can be like vanity license plates: whimsical attempts by owners to communicate humor and personal identity.” But it’s not just about vanity. The Journal noted that a survey conducted last April of 4,000 consumers by the U.K.-based real estate website Globrix “found that one in 14 said they would be prepared to pay more for a home just because it had a name.” One home with a quirky name is Casa de Kraftmaid, a 15,000-square-foot mansion in Moreland Hills that went on the market in 2011 for $3.7 million and is advertised as a “one-of-a-kind property” with an 8,000square-foot swimming pool. The Journal said the name comes from the current owner, Kraftmaid Cabinetry founder Richard Moodie. It wasn’t intended to be humorous, said listing broker Adam Kaufman of Howard Hanna in Cleveland. “It’s unique. It sets it apart,” Mr. Kaufman told The Journal. Even so, “he doubts a new owner will keep that name,” the newspaper concluded.

Pipe nightmares ■ Here’s a story that’s plumb awful. Bloomberg reported that recession-driven thefts of pipes, water heaters and toilets “cut the number of U.S. homes with complete plumbing by about 10.4% from 2008

to 2011,” reversing a five-decade trend of advanced levels of indoor plumbing. That decay “another obstacle to recovery in Rust Belt cities already beset by crime and poverty,” Bloomberg noted. Indeed, “Detroit leads U.S. cities in homes that the Census Bureau says lack basic plumbing,” according to the news service. About 19% of the city’s 360,951 housing units lack complete plumbing. The agency “found similar devolution in Flint, Mich.; Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio; Camden, N.J.; and Buffalo, N.Y.,” Bloomberg reported. The problem is “distinctly urban and insidious,” said Alan Mallach, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “When a unit becomes vacant in large parts of Detroit, Cleveland, Camden, you name it, it gets stripped,” he told Bloomberg. “Where you have these roving stripping gangs, as well as vandalism, the houses will go pretty fast.”

Nice work if you can get it ■ If PolyOne Corp. of Avon Lake completes its previously announced $393 million acquisition of Clayton, Mo.-based Spartech Corp., Spartech CEO Victoria Holt would receive a golden parachute valued at $5.1 million. The figure includes $3.2 million of cash, $1.7 million of stock, $90,000 in pension and $52,329 of perquisites, according to a story in the St. Louis Business Journal. Four other Spartech executives each would receive packages ranging in values from $1.1 million to $2 million.

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