Crain's Cleveland Business, July 29, 2024

DOUBLE DUTY

Lakewood startup Walk Your Plans transforms into event center after hours

By Alexandra Golden

When Lakewood’s Walk Your Plans shuts its doors after a long day, the home design startup undergoes a quick transformation, reopening in the evening — and on the weekends — as e Hall at James event space. Situated inside the auditorium of

the former St. James School in Lakewood, both businesses share 3,000 square feet of oor space that’s used by homebuyers, builders and designers and celebrating partygoers at night.

And, the owners say, it’s all by design.

When Walk Your Plans founder and President Joe Matejka and Managing

Partner Jackson Heller opened the business in the old gym on the second oor of the former school at 17514 Detroit Ave. in spring 2023, they had the idea of doing more with it — what Matejka describes as a “crawl, walk, run” concept.

Weed sales to start soon

What to expect from the adult-use rollout in Ohio

By Jeremy Nobile

At least some Ohio cannabis companies will begin selling nonmedical marijuana to the public in the coming weeks in what will mark a long-awaited milestone for supporters of last fall’s Issue 2 and progressive marijuana policy.

While the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control has not guaranteed any particular date for adult-use sales to begin, regulators continue to make progress with issuing provisional dual-use licenses to companies.

A dual-use license allows previously medical-only cannabis companies to operate in the nonmedical industry while o cial rules for the adult-use program continue to be developed. A provisional version of that license is effectively a placeholder until a certicate of operation (COO) is awarded.

While no operators have received a COO so far through mid-July, legal, nonmedical marijuana sales are nonetheless around the corner.

Here are several key things to know about the adult-use program as it enters the early stages of the rollout.

Guests can rent The Hall at St. James, along with its seven projectors that can cast images and video on the oor and walls. | THE HALL AT ST. JAMES

The price of greatness

Going for gold? As Northeast Ohio Olympians will tell you, prepare to spend some, too

By Joe Scalzo

is is a story about the business side of becoming an Olympian and maybe the best place to start is with a former Ohio State linebacker named Matt Christopher.

And his wallet.

Christopher and his wife, a former high school cheerleader named Lori, live near Canton with their two sons: a 21-yearold Marcus and a high school senior named Charlie. Marcus is one of the best BMX freestyle riders on the planet, a reigning X Games Park gold medalist and Olympic quali er capable of pulling o 360-degree back ips, triple tailwhips, back ip bar spins. But for the parents of BMX riders, the sport’s most eye-popping trick is how quickly it can empty your pocketbook.

Seven years ago, when it became clear that Marcus wasn’t just a talented rider but a true prodigy, his parents sold their house and moved three miles down the road to a four-acre property that could accommodate a world-class practice ramp, one that would help Marcus reach new heights (literally and competitively) but one that eventually came with a $70,000 price tag.

e Christophers also spent hundreds of hours driving to Cleveland during the winter to train at Nick Bruce’s indoor BMX facility, the Brewhouse, while shelling out thousands of dollars on equipment, gas, airfare, hotel rooms, out-of-town meals and the like. To this day, Marcus still lives at home so he can save money.

en there’s Charlie, who is headed to Ohio University on a full-ride football scholarship. His biggest expense is protein shakes.

“You make sacri ces for your kids no matter what the sport,” Matt said, laughing. “But it’s a lot easier to get into a ball sport.”

Of course, you can’t talk about how much it costs to become an Olympian without also talking about how much it’s worth, from the travel stipends (since making the national team two years ago, USA Cycling has covered the costs of Marcus’ airfare, hotels and food) to increased sponsorships (he already pulls in six gures annually from sponsors such as Rockstar Energy, DK Bicycles and Duo Brand) to the fact that a few minutes of excellence can translate into a lifetime of opportunities.

“It changed my life forever,” said Dominique Moceanu, a member of the 1996 gold medal-winning USA Gymnastics team who now runs a gymnastic center in Medi-

na. “Without winning gold, there’s no post-Olympic tour. No sold-out arenas. We got to go to the White House and meet the president. I was on the Oprah Winfrey show. ere’s all these doors that would never have opened if it had not been for an Olympic gold medal.”

Of course, Moceanu’s story isn’t typical.

For every athlete like pole vaulter Katie (Nageotte) Moon, an Olmsted Falls native who won gold at the 2021 Tokyo Games and makes a comfortable living thanks to her Nike sponsorship, prize money and appearance fees, there is someone like Cleveland boxer Morelle McCane, who is just the second female boxer from Ohio to compete at the Olympics and who set up a GoFundMe in January to try and o set the cost of travel and airfare for her family and coaches.

In fact, more than a quarter of all U.S. Olympians report making less than $15,000 annually in total income, according to a 2024 report by the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics. Athletes spend as much as $21,700 in competition fees and membership leading up to the games, and as much as $9,200 for out-of-pocket health care expenses — with as little as 16% of those health care costs reimbursed, according to the report.

And while U.S. athletes earn cash for winning Olympic medals — $37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze — those gures rank 28th globally.

“Sometimes the (Olympic) payo is not what you think it’s going to be,” Moceanu said. “Back when we competed, I think it was $25,000 for a gold medal. at’s not a lot for a lifetime of work, so it’s all about what you gain on the back-end. ose post-Olympic tours allowed us to make some money to buy a house, but sometimes other countries give you a house or a car. You’re taken care of. ose things are paid for because of what you sacri ced.”

So what does it cost — and what is it worth? To answer that, Crain’s talked with four current and former Olympians with ties to Northeast Ohio: Christopher, Moceanu, Carlin Isles (a Massillon native who played on the United States national rugby sevens Olympic teams in 2016 and 2021) and pole vaulter Matt Ludwig (a Lake Catholic and University of Akron graduate who competed for Team USA in the 2021 Games).

Of the four, only Christopher is competing at this year’s games, although Ludwig did compete at last month’s U.S. Olympic Trials, where he nished fth.

Marcus Christopher

Unlike gymnasts, track athletes or swimmers, BMX riders don’t necessarily grow up dreaming of being Olympians, in part because it didn’t become a medal sport until the 2008 Beijing Games.

“When Marcus got into freestyle, the goal was to make it to the X Games and, obviously, win an X Games medal,” Matt Christopher said. “And when it started, we didn’t get into this for the money. You get into it for the love of the sport and if the money comes, great. If not, you move on with your life and get a 9-to-5 and nd another passion and go for that.”

Marcus rst made the X Games in 2019 as a 16-year-old and won his rst X Games gold last month in Ventura, California, becoming the third-youngest (at age 21) to take rst in BMX Park.

When asked if an Olympic gold medal would be even bigger, he said, “An Olympic gold is de nitely higher than an X Games gold. It’s still the Olympics. I don’t know how much it would change my life, but it’s de nitely an awesome achievement. And a lot of people would see it on TV, so it would de nitely change my life but I don’t think in an insane, big way.”

Even if it does, it’ll take a few days to capitalize on it. In 1991, the International Olympic Committee enacted Rule 40, which prevents athletes competing in the Games from allowing their name, image or sporting performance to be used in advertising during its blackout period, which runs from July 18 to Aug. 13. e rule is designed to protect the Games’ ocial sponsors, who pay big money

Carlin Isles

Although rugby sevens is still relatively unknown in the U.S., Isles became one of its early breakout stars thanks to his speed (he was known as the “Fastest Man in Rugby” and once ran a 4.22 40yard dash in a tryout for the Detroit Lions) and his ability to market himself on social media.

Even if you’ve never watched a rugby match in your life, you might have been one of the 50 million-plus people who have seen a four-second clip of him sprinting through a parking garage, alongside lines like “When mom said she made pizza rolls.”

anks to his high pro le and his talent, he was making well into the six gures annually thanks to sponsorship deals with Nike, California Almonds, Athletic Brewing, Stanley, Fabletics and more.

“You get a lot of opportunities from the Olympics, having that on your resume and your name,” said Isles, who also played rugby professionally.

And because he was on the USA Rugby team, he was able to train at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego, which covered his food and medical care.

“If you need a massage, if you needed to see a physical therapist or a sports therapist or use the hot tub or cold tub or have access to recovery accessories, it was all there,” he said. “Not everyone is that lucky and blessed.”

to be connected to the Olympics.

“I think the rule hurts the athletes a little bit ... but if you do get a medal, as soon as the Olympics is over, there are opportunities available,” Matt said. “If he wins a gold medal, you could then say, ‘Marcus Christopher, a gold medalist from the Olympics, drives a Ford from Schoner Chevrolet’ or whatever.”

Fortunately for Marcus, he’s already doing well nancially. He pulls in six gures annually from sponsors such as Rockstar Energy, DK Bicycles and Duo Brand (which makes bike parts). Plus, since making the national team two years ago, USA Cycling has covered the costs of his airfare, hotels and food while competing on the road.

“ e bene ts of making the national team for your sport, I can’t even put a number on it,” Matt said. “At one point, he was paying all of his travel expenses out of his own pocket. Basically, that burden is taken away.”

But not for the rest of the Christophers. Because Olympic qualifying came so late, it was going to cost between $15,000 and $20,000 just for the family to y to Paris (more than $3,000 per ticket), rent an Airbnb (more than $1,500 per day) and pay for food, transportation and the like.

Consequently, the only way you’ll see the other Christophers in Paris this summer is if they make a 25-minute drive south to Paris, Ohio.

“It just didn’t make any sense (to go),” Matt said. “And he’s going to be in the Olympic Village anyway, so we weren’t going to see him much. So we said, ‘You know what? We’re going to sit at home and watch it on TV.’”

When Isles rst moved to San Diego, he was making between $30,000 and $40,000 a year in one of the costliest locations in America.

“I’m like, ‘ is is not what I thought it was going to be,’” he said. “When I was running track and I was living in Austin (Texas), I had to pay for my housing. And if you have, say, a $60,000 Nike contract that includes gear, you still have to cover all your expenses. Let’s say you get massages four to six times a month, that’s $80 per session. Now you’ve got to take care of food, which is maybe $500 to $600 a month. en you’ve got gas, travel, hotel costs, maybe agent fees. All of that starts to shrink (your bottom line) and you’re like, ‘Where’s all my money at?’

“You really have to live below your means. If you’re not smart, you can blow it. And if something happens where you don’t run well for a year or two, they can deduct that from your pay.”

Isles now works as the director of Public Relations and Community Initiatives for the Stark County prosecutor’s o ce. He also coaches track and eld at his alma mater, Massillon Jackson High School, and does private speed training. He’s in a good place, and he has his Olympic experiences to thank.

“My thing was, I didn’t want to be an Olympian and have nothing to show for it,” he said. “ is sport is going to use you, and I didn’t want to go back home being poor and having nothing.”

Dominique Moceanu

Due to injuries, Moceanu’s gymnastics career didn’t quite reach the heights of, say, Simone Biles or Shannon Miller. But because of her talent, her success and her comfort in the spotlight, she’s still one of the most recognizable athletes in her sport, someone who appeared on the cover of a Wheaties box (with the rest of the 1996 Olympic gymnastics team), wrote a New York Times-bestselling memoir and opened her own gym, the Dominique Moceanu Gymnastics Center and Carmen Yoga Studio. at’s where she and her husband — Dr. Michael Canales, a podiatrist who was a member of Ohio’s State national championship gymnastics team in 1996

— train their son Vincent Canales, himself an Olympic hopeful.

“Being a parent of someone who obviously has high Olympic aspirations, it’s a sacri ce for everyone,” Moceanu said. “It’s not only a sacri ce for the athlete, who goes through all the mental and physical stresses of achieving their dreams, but it’s a sacrice for the entire family. ey’re all part of the journey. Everyone helps when it comes to monitoring their healthy eating, their doctor’s appointments, keeping up with schooling and making sure the nances work out. It’s enormously expensive for gymnasts to compete at the sport’s highest levels. It’s a huge nancial commitment. My parents didn’t have a lot of means, so I know how tough it is.”

Over the last two decades, Moceanu has used her platform as a force for good, speaking out against USA Gymnastics’ toxic culture, including the abusive methods used by Olympic coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi. She supported the survivors

Matt Ludwig

Ludwig was originally an alternate on the U.S. Olympic team in 2021, but gained a spot when bronze medalist and reigning world champion Sam Kendricks tested positive for COVID-19. at appearance opened up more opportunities for him to make money on track and eld’s international circuit, where athletes earn a living through appearance fees, prize money, bonuses and sponsorship revenue.

“For me, a lot of my income is based on how well I perform or how poorly I perform,” said Ludwig, who trains under former gold medalist Tim Mack at SPIRE Institute & Academy in Geneva.

“If you have a bad season or get hurt doing something beyond your control, that might lead to retiring from the sport. at can add to the stress on an athlete because this is your livelihood. You’re not getting paid because you showed up and clocked in for eight hours. You have to beat the other people in your sport.

“ at can wear on you, but it also sharpens your competitive edge.”

Ludwig spends about $20,000 a year just on his travel costs,

of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse, whose testimony led to a $100 million settlement with the Justice Department over the FBI’s mishandling of the allegations. And she’s bucked her sport’s conventions by emphasizing training over competing, to the point where her son didn’t participate in a formal competition for six years.

Moceanu was 14 in 1996 and she remains the youngest American gymnast to win Olympic gold. She’s also the last 14-yearold gymnast to compete legally in the Olympics, which now requires competitors to be at least 16. In 2021, the average age of the U.S. gymnastics team was 21.3 and this year’s team includes four women in their 20s and one 16-year-old, Hezly Rivera.

“I would have liked to keep competing longer than I did, but one thing I tell families is that even if you don’t reach your Olympic dream, you can still go to college and you can still get NIL (name, image and likeness) money,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be that narrow pathway. Gymnastics teaches you so much about life. You learn character and character-building. It’s not just about winning a gold medal.”

which doesn’t include the cost of living and training at SPIRE. He’s on the road for more than 100 days a year, which also wreaks havoc with his personal life, since it’s hard to maintain friendships and relationships when you spend one-third of your year in di erent countries.

But he also appreciates the chance to make a living doing what he loves — and at age 28, he’s rmly in the prime of his career, with the chance to make another Olympic run when the games come to Los Angeles in 2028.

“Trust me, I’m as humble as they come, but the Olympic tag brings you a lot of notoriety and I’m incredibly grateful for that,” he said. “In our world, we’re mini-celebrities and the moment I retire, that’s most likely out the window and I’m most likely back to being Matt. So this is an incredible chapter in my life.”

Ludwig thinks the next chapter of his life can be just as good, especially since he plans to approach it with the same level of e ort and excitement.

“No plans on that anytime soon,” he said, “but when the time does come, I think I’ll be all right.”

CONTRIBUTED

Stark County native Marcus Christopher, a USA Cycling team member, competes in the BMX Freestyle Park nal of the Olympic Quali er Series at the Ludovica Campus in Budapest, Hungary on June 22.

Carlin Isles runs with the ball during the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 match between the USA and Spain at Estadio de La Cartuja on Jan. 28, 2022 in Seville, Spain.

Lake Catholic High School graduate

Matt Ludwig competes in the men’s pole vault quali cation during the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.

Former home of Mickey’s Rust Proo ng nds a buyer

By Stan Bullard

e next phase in restoring the one-time East Cleveland location of Mickey’s Rust Proo ng, a company well known to Clevelanders of a certain age, is in the hands of a Boston-based rm, Verdynt Biotech, and its partner SKYLIIT Labs.

e Cuyahoga County Land Bank announced Friday, July 19, that, on July 17, it sold the property to Verdynt as the nonpro t celebrated the conclusion of a $3.5 million renovation of the structure at 12550 Euclid Ave.

Verdynt, which specializes in restoring science buildings in urban areas for current needs, said SKYLIIT plans to invest $12 million and bring up to 100 jobs to the property when the project is fully realized and re-tenanted.

Verdynt is led by two Cleveland natives, Doug Medvetz and Khadijah Hindi, who will return home from Boston to spearhead the venture, according to the land bank. One of Verdynt’s goals is to allow communities to retain local talent by making research space more common in urban areas.

Gus Frangos, land bank president, said in the release that Verdynt’s “mission to reinvent standard labs by developing adaptable

tenant-focused research spaces in emerging urban markets ts perfectly with our goal of maximizing the building’s close proximity to one of the world’s top hospital systems.”

e land bank had bought the building two years ago and pumped in money from multiple sources to get it to the point where a private group would take over.

With the building’s proximity to University Circle, the land bank hopes the building will serve as a hub for science renovation. e structure also serves as a commercial lynchpin in sweeping land bank plans to revitalize that section of struggling East Cleveland with new homes and other investments.

Dennis Roberts, land bank director of real estate development, called the next step at the property “the spark needed to jumpstart investment that will fuel the beginning of the revitalization of this historic city.”

Roberts also thanked land bank partnerships with government and civic groups, in terms of funds and expertise, to make a go of the project.

Grants from the City of East Cleveland, JobsOhio, the Port Authority, Cuyahoga County and Bank of America were critical to

Starrett plant sold

By Stan Bullard

e L.S. Starrett Co.’s (NYSE: SCX) plant at 24500 Detroit Road, Westlake, was sold ursday, July 18, for $3.45 million to an a liate of AIC Industrial, an Austin, Texas, real estate ownership and management company, according to Cuyahoga County property records.

Starrett, an Athol, Massachusetts-based precision tools concern, operates a gauge light assembly operation at the Westlake plant. e single-story plant dates from 1979 and sits on a 4.8acre site, according to county records. e county assigns the property a market value of $2 million for tax purposes.

the completion of this project. e project included several examples of innovative reuse of materials in the renovation, the land bank said, including sandstone from apartments that formerly stood next door and recycled mushrooms used to make a sculpture by architect Chris Maurer.

RDL Architects and Millstone Management of Cleveland ran the job side of the project. e site in East Cleveland was best known lately as Mickey’s Rust Proo ng, a popular local auto rust-proo ng rm that operated multiple suburban locations. e rm was led by Michael “Mickey” Antonelli whose slogan, “Take your car to Mickey’s,” was often heard on the radio. e chain closed “long ago,” according to Richard Cowan, owner of Miracle Shield of Parma. He said the former Mickey’s approach was undercut by automakers to eschew drilling holes in the autos and replaced by other methods.

Mickey’s was previously a Friedman Buick dealership, and prior to 1957 was operated by Ralph Stewart Buick Co. e land bank’s purchase price in 2021 and resale to the Verdynt Biotech/SKYLIIT Labs were not disclosed.

building as a recent acquisition. AIC owns about 50 properties, some 7 million square feet, in Ohio out of a national portfolio of 55 properties.

A Starrett spokeswoman said it has leased the plant for an undisclosed period and the company will continue operations there. In such net lease transactions, companies sell properties to real estate companies to extract capital to add liquidity while continuing to have it for operations.

Starrett announced in March it plans to go private later this year in a transaction with Middleground Capital of Lexington, Kentucky, but that merger has not been completed according to Starrett’s site.

The Starrett Co. plant at 24500 Detroit Road sold for $3.45 million. | COSTAR

Verdynt Biotech, a Boston research space developer, is the new owner of the former Mickey’s Rust Proo ng building. | CUYAHOGA LAND BANK

State among the worst for infant mortality in new health scorecard

By Paige Bennett

Ohio has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the country but one of the stronger maternity care workforces, according to a new state-by-state scorecard on women’s health.

The Buckeye State ranked 29 out of the 50 states plus Washington, D.C., in the Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care.

The state placed 35 out of 51 for health and reproductive care outcomes, 29 for coverage, access and affordability and 30 for health care quality and prevention. Its overall rank of 29 put it at slightly worse than average.

Ohio was No. 44 out of 51 for infant mortality per 1,000 live births and 44 out of 51 for women ages 18 to 64 who report poor mental health. The state ranked highest for its performances with uninsured women ages 19 to 64 (15 out of 51), women ages 18 to 44 without a routine checkup in the past two years (18 out of 51), and maternity care workforce per 100,000 women ages 15 to 44 (22 out of 51).

The Commonwealth Fund used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Census Bureau and other federal registries to create the scorecard, said David Radley, senior scientist for health system tracking at the Commonwealth Fund.

From there, the foundation constructed a series of measures to assess women’s experiences, particularly those of reproductive age, who engage with the health care system. Those measures were divided among three domains (health outcomes, health care access and affordability, and quality of care) and used to create domain scores. Finally, the domain scores were rolled into an overall ranking.

According to the Ohio Department of Health’s most recent report, the state’s infant mortality rate was 7.0 in 2021, an increase from 6.7 the previous year. A 2023 report by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that the state’s infant mortality rate has remained higher than most other states and that racial disparities in infant mortality persist. Data from the state health department show that the infant mortality rate among Black infants was 14.2 in 2021 compared to 5.4 among white infants.

This summer, the University of Akron introduced a new course to train current and future health care professionals and social workers on interventions to help reduce Black infant

mortality in Summit County.

While Ohio’s infant mortality rate is much higher than the average, Radley said the state’s workforce numbers are better than average. One measure where Ohio does not perform well, he said, is the percentage of live births where prenatal care did not begin during the first trimester of pregnancy. High workforce numbers paired with a lower percentage of mothers starting prenatal care early indicates there may be a mismatch in people’s ability to get to a doctor, he said.

Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island were the top performers for the scorecard, while the lowest were Mississippi, Texas, Nevada and Oklahoma.

Deaths among women of reproductive age (15 to 44) were highest in southeastern states, with mental health conditions being the most frequently reported cause of preventable pregnancy-related death, including deaths by suicide and overdoses related to substance use disorders.

“The biggest takeaway is that where a woman lives matters,” Radley said.

The state in which a woman lives not only affects the quality of care she is likely to receive, he said, it also affects her ability to access care and the outcomes she is likely to experience.

Looking across all states, the report shows that women’s health is in a “fragile place,” Radley said, Some states have doubled down to ensure women have access to a full range of health care services, he said, while others have implemented restrictions or bans on abortion services. Radley said this can result in a trickle-down effect that influences women’s access to other health care services.

Radley said data show some of the states with the strictest abortion bans have the fewest maternity care providers. A report published this year by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that states with abortion bans continue to see declines in residency applicants. Over time, fewer residents will likely result in fewer practicing physicians, Radley said, putting a strain on the primary care system.

Anything that can be done on the federal or state levels to incentivize people to enter the health care workforce, particularly maternal care, is important, he said.

Additionally, Radley said, any policy that expands state Medicaid coverage would benefit women as “health insurance really is the foundation to accessing the rest of the delivery care system.”

Ohio one of a handful of states that saw unemployment rise in June

By Kim Palmer

In June, Ohio’s unemployment rate increased to 4.4% from May's 4.2% rate, according to numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

e survey of more than 5.6 million non-agricultural workers in the state lost 2,300 fewer Ohioans employed statewide in June than in the previous month.

e state’s labor force participation rate in June increased from 61.9% in May to 62.1% in June, signaling that the unemployment rate increase could be a product of more Ohioans looking for work, Rea Hederman Jr., the Buckeye Institute vice president of policy and Economic Research Center executive director, said in a statement.

Ohio had 254,000 workers unemployed in June, up from 243,000 in May, which also marks an increase of 60,000 over the past 12 months. According to BLS data, 9,000 Ohioans gained jobs but 21,000 Ohioans entered the workforce seeking a job, resulting in that overall uptick.

However, employment in goods-producing industries saw an increase of 2,300 last month bringing the total to more than 939,000.

e state continues to perform just below the national unemployment rate, which in June was 4.1%, up from 4% in May. e national labor force participation

rate is also higher than Ohio's and increased to 62.6%.

Unemployment numbers remained stable in 41 states, increased in eight states, including Ohio and the District of Columbia, and decreased in Connecticut, according to the BLS ndings.

e May BLS release initially reported an addition of 22,900 jobs but that was revised downward to show only 14,900 new jobs in the state.

“Taken together, Ohio added only 2,600 new private-sector jobs in May and June—a worrying decline in Ohio’s job market,” Hederman said in a statement about the data.

e BLS report found the state lost 12,300 private-sector jobs in June. Unemployment in the state this year has gone from 3.7% to 4.4%, which remains low, historically, for Ohio, Hederman  said.

“Halfway through 2024, Ohio’s job market has cooled since the start of the year, adding only 11,000 private-sector jobs,” he added.

e June BLS report broken down by sector found:

◗ 10,000 gains in government employment.

◗ 3,600 jobs gained in the construction sector.

◗ 200 jobs gained in the information sector.

◗ 100 jobs gained in the service sector.

◗ 1,300 job losses in the manufacturing sector.

◗ 8,400 job losses in private education and health services.

◗ 3,400 job losses in the professional and business services.

◗ 1,700 job losses in trade, transportation and utilities.

◗ 1,200 job losses in leisure and hospitality.

◗ 200 job losses in the nancial activities sector.

e BLS statistics come from two monthly programs: a survey of households and an earnings survey that measures non-farm employment, hours and earnings by industry.

Data centers the size of cities coming to Northeast Ohio's electric grid

Big business for FirstEnergy and other utilities could mean higher rates for the rest of us

By Dan Shingler

FirstEnergy Corp. is eyeing some big new customers that its chief executive says will use so much power, it will be as if new major cities suddenly pop up on the utility’s power distribution system.

Brian Tierney isn’t old enough to remember the advent of air conditioning, but the CEO of Akron-based FirstEnergy thinks he’s experiencing something akin to that today in his industry. Maybe bigger.

"It’s going to be huge,” Tierney said in an interview.

“It” is the emergence of data centers that will use huge amounts of power in FirstEnergy’s Ohio territory, its other states and at utilities across the country.

“ e thing that amazes us are the studies people are asking us to do,” Tierney said, referring to requests from potential customers for studies on power availability that will determine whether, how and where they will establish large data centers, based on their anticipated power demands.

“In 2023, we were asked for 18 load studies for (demands of) 500 megawatts or greater,” Tierney said. “ is year alone, we’ve had 40. ... It's more than doubled just through May of this year.” ose are studies FirstEnergy is doing for single data centers, he said, which could be anything from an Amazon facility

to arti cial intelligence computing centers, or even crypto miners crunching blockchain calculations to earn Bitcoin.

How much power is 500 megawatts? More power than many Ohio cities use today and enough "to serve about 400,000 homes,” Tierney said.

In other words, FirstEnergy’s already been asked, this year, to provide information for 40 potential data centers, each of which would use about twice as much power as all of the homes in Cleveland, which has just under 200,000 households, according to Census data.

It’s going to mean big business for FirstEnergy, other utilities and the power generation industry in the years to come. But what does that mean for the rest of us who just need a few thousand watts to run our lights, refrigerators and, occasionally, air conditioners? Or restaurants, machine shops and o ces?

Higher rates, in all likelihood.

FirstEnergy, among many if not most other utilities, has cases in several states (including Ohio) seeking higher rates.

In Northeast Ohio, FirstEnergy is seeking a rate increase that would raise the average consumer’s bill by an estimated $1 to $5 per month, providing about $100 million to the company in additional revenue. But it recently got a larger increase approved by state regulators for investments in grid security that

consumer groups say will result in much larger rate increases.

Much of that can be traced to the new demand, according to FirstEnergy.

“It’s very much related," Tierney said. "As you have that increased load at particular centers, you have to increase the capability of your existing transmission system."

FirstEnergy’s Ohio investments largely have been on the distribution side of things.

“For Ohio, we have not yet added or needed to add transmission capacity to serve existing or forecasted data centers. ... at could change in the future if we consume all the capacity we have,” Tierney said. “ at could cause rates to go up in the future, but we’re not at that point.”

e costs of wiring up new data centers, so far, largely are o set by FirstEnergy’s excess distribution capacity in Ohio. It’s using that to serve the new data centers, often at sites that formerly housed smelters or other big industrial operations that previously were wired for large power supplies, Tierney said.

Right now, data centers account for about 2.5% of the power FirstEnergy delivers in Ohio.

“It’s not insigni cant,” he said.

But more are coming. ey’ve been mostly in the central and southern areas of the state, in

AEP’s territory, but Tierney said they are heading north.

“ ere is a concentration of data centers in the ColumbusNew Albany area," Tierney said. " ey’ve designed for it and built it over a number of years. e utility that serves that area is basically out of capacity to serve additional load centers. When that happens, data centers look at an expanding service into surrounding areas. ... ey’re looking for land, transmission capacity and ber connectivity. ... e rst two are very important, and they can solve for the third.”

FirstEnergy often can solve for the second, if the project warrants the investment, Tierney said.

General increases in demand for power and investments in the grid might mean requests for higher rates, but Tierney said it “would be entirely inappropriate” to leave other ratepayers on the hook for the investment required to connect a data center to the distribution system.

But FirstEnergy and its customers apparently are going to have to deal with huge additional demands on the local grid, and higher power prices generally. Essentially, the same AI systems that might be gunning for your job also are going to use their nancial powers to bid up the price of your electricity. A search using AI takes 10 times the power of using a

traditional search engine, experts say.

“ ere would certainly be upward pressure on power prices, and notable ones at that,” said consultant Matt Brakey, CEO of Brakey Energy in Chagrin Falls. Brakey sees increased power prices generally, because the added demand from data centers and crypto miners will impact future power auctions and spot-market prices.

e risk that that demand will cause extreme spikes in prices — or worse, conditions where power can’t be fully delivered to everyone — will be ameliorated by the fact that some data centers can shut down during hours of peak demand, when prices for power are at their highest. ink late afternoon on a 95degree day.

But Brakey said he believes the biggest rate increases will be due to the investments needed to make the transmission system able to handle the new demand.

“I think the biggest cost risk would likely be transmission,” Brakey said. “Essentially, a lot of new transmission infrastructure would have to be built to accommodate the sizable increase in load.”

Tierney said FirstEnergy already is planning for such investments in its capital spending plans. It has to, he said, because when it comes to the advent of big data centers and the demand they create, “it’s real, and it’s happening.”

CSG eyes Notre Dame College for training facility

Joe Scalzo and Stan Bullard

Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) co-founder Michael Murphy doesn’t just want to build a training facility on the campus of Notre Dame College.

He wants to build on the school’s legacy.

at’s one of the reasons why CSG recently put in an o er on the site, which went on the market in early May following the 102-year-old college’s nal semester.

e move is part of the organization’s bid to land an expansion National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team, which would begin play in 2026. e site would also serve as the practice facility for Cleveland’s MLS Next Pro team.

“We looked at well over a dozen sites and this is the one we really like,” said Murphy, who expects the NWSL to choose its expansion team sometime in the fourth quarter of the year. “We think it would be transformational for the city as well as Notre Dame College in South Euclid.

“Notre Dame College was originally built to be an all-women’s school and along came Regina High School, (where) my mother went to high school and was an all-girls school, so the narrative has always been about training women for leadership roles. So to bring women’s professional sports to that area in South Euclid, Ohio, we think it’s a great use for it.”

tre Dame, held its nal commencement on May 4. It announced Feb. 29 that it was closing due to challenges related to declining enrollment, a shrinking pool of college-age students, rising costs and signicant debt.

To CSG, Notre Dame College’s campus was an attractive site in part because of its existing infrastructure, which already has Normandy Field, a turf soccer eld connected to a turf softball eld, and nearby Mueller Field, a turf football eld. ere is additional land that can be turned into elds.

“Before it closed, Notre Dame dedicated a lot of resources into being a great Division II athletic school, so there was investment made that we can reuse and can make a gem again in the city.”

Michael Murphy, Cleveland Soccer Group co-founder

e property includes 14 buildings and three houses on a 50-acre site in the densely developed eastern suburbs of Cleveland. at includes gyms, a library, an auditorium in the former Regina High School part of the campus, dormitories with a total of 300 rooms, laboratories and classrooms.

ere was no stated asking price, but Cuyahoga County assigns the property a market value of $30 million, according to land records.

CSG is one of about a half dozen prospective bidders that Hanna Commercial is negotiating with, according to Mac Biggar, president, Hanna Commercial Real Estate. Biggar said some bids are from groups pursuing elements of the campus together.

“We are trying to negotiate a contract with one of them,” said Biggar, who declined to identify other bidders. “We are hopeful of continuing to make progress to that end.”

e college, founded in 1922 in Cleveland by the Sisters of No-

CSG has previously said it is looking to provide $60 million toward a $150 million, 12,500seat stadium downtown, and $133 million for securing and starting up a NWSL team, a MLS Next Pro Team and a training facility.”

“When you’re looking at professional training sites, you have to look at what exists there already, so it makes sense to build o some of the great infrastructure they already have,” Murphy said. “Before it closed, Notre Dame dedicated a lot of resources into being a great Division II athletic school, so there was investment made that we can reuse and can make a gem again in the city.”

Murphy said CSG is also working with a developer to bring single-family housing to parts of the area, “which we know the city wants.”

CSG has shared its plans with South Euclid o cials, and Mayor Georgine Welo said, “ is is probably the only proposal that I could really see the community

rallying around,” since it would allow residents to still access parts of the campus. Notre Dame College has traditionally served as a community gathering place, Welo said, a place where people got married and baptized in the chapel, where they attended band concerts in the auditorium, a place where kids could play and adults could exercise.

“To wall o Notre Dame College would be a travesty to this community,” she said. “ e Cleveland Soccer Group is looking at this more as community grounds. And this might sound weird, but it’s

just pretty cool. Notre Dame College was built by these women who brought forward so many wonderful teachers and accountants and business people and scientists … to me, it gives me goosebumps.

“I hope the board takes the o er seriously because I think they owe it to this community and I think to the Sisters of Notre Dame and I think they owe it to the alumni, an alumni that will be able to say, ‘ ey continued what Notre Dame College was about.’”

Welo said the city is not aware of any other o ers on the property.

She also said that when NDC went forward with its plans to sell the site, the school’s leadership promised to be open and transparent about the bid process and to communicate with city o cials, something she said hasn’t happened.

“It’s really sad because we’ve reached out to Notre Dame and have asked them, ‘Are you going to honor what your board chair told us?’ and we were pretty much told no,” she said. “We’re pretty disappointed it’s not an open and transparent process.”

Crain’s Cleveland has reached out to board chair Terri Bradford Eason for comment.

At its height, Notre Dame College brought in about $200,000 annually in income tax and was exempt from paying property tax. Cleveland Soccer Group, meanwhile, is a for-profit enterprise and Welo believes the soccer teams could do for South Euclid what the Browns have done for Berea.

“Bank of America just looks at this as a piece of land, but they need to really take pause if they are going to sell this piece of property that has such a legacy,” Welo said. “ is is what the city was built on. It’s in the center of town. We’ve had all kinds of events here. I know they have shareholders, but shareholders live in communities, too. ey have to take pause and say, ‘We’re a community bank also, so we need to start thinking like it and we need to also be responsible so that when we do leave the area, we’ve done the right thing.’”

Cleveland Soccer Group put in an offer on the 50-acre site that was previously Notre Dame College. | CONTRIBUTED

The Tower builds on ‘town and gown’ relationship

Lake Erie College’s new downtown apartments open in Painesville’s Chase Bank building

Joe

e best addition you’ll see inside e Tower — Lake Erie College’s new downtown apartments in Painesville’s historic Chase Bank building — isn’t the openoor lobby with common areas for socializing and studying. Or the furnished living spaces. Or the spacious second- oor tness center. Or even the refurbished rooftop terrace overlooking the city square.

No, the best addition will arrive later this summer.

Students.

Lake Erie College (LEC) is poised to welcome its biggest freshman class in at least a decade, and e Tower — which held its ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, July 17 — is playing a part in that growth, even though the building is only available to sophomores, juniors and seniors, LEC president Jennifer Schuller said.

“Hearing from our coaches, who bring student-athletes on tours, this is a game-changer,” said Schuller, who expects approximately 300 freshmen to enroll next month. “Students today have expectations about what kind of facilities they want to live in and the amenities they expect when they pay to go to college. And let’s be frank, they’re customers. ey’re looking for the best bang for their buck. So this just provides just a di erent quality of living experience.”

e Tower — which was funded by a $17 million capital stack that included public and privatenancing — will house 172 students this fall, and there’s already a waiting list for more.

e average student will pay $8,000 a year to live in the building, a price tag that includes a campus meal plan. (At a minimum, Tower residents must pay for 100 meals per semester, which costs $1,700.) at $8,000 price tag is quite a bit more than the average price of living on campus (about $5,800), but it’s in line with what other colleges and universities charge for comparative living spaces, Schuller said.  Best of all, LEC didn’t have to pay for the renovation, although “we’re on the hook for making sure the building is full,” she said.  Painesville, meanwhile, is shelling out $1 million to fund streetscape improvements around the property. e Tower is the rst major project to be completed as part of Painesville’s downtown revitalization, and several restaurants (as many as eight or nine, Schuller said) are planning to open downtown to capitalize on the increase in foot tra c.

“Young people are going to be here shopping in Painesville with the best kind of money — their parents’ money,” said Renew Part-

partner Shawn

Like many Northeast Ohio private colleges, Lake Erie College has had its struggles in recent years, even entering into a forbearance agreement with bondholders earlier this year after the school didn’t meet certain covenants it agreed to as part of a 2019 debt sale.  But LEC has managed to buck Northeast Ohio’s enrollment trends, increasing its enrollment by 4.2% between fall 2022 and 2023. e school received a $1.5

million grant in February from the Lake County Board of Commissioners to add turf and lighting to an on-campus eld for the lacrosse and soccer teams. en, in May, it agreed to become the institution of record for Notre Dame College (NDC), which closed at the end of the spring semester.

Many of NDC’s students are transferring to LEC, which has also attracted students from Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula Counties thanks to its Tri-County Scholarship, which guarantees that new full-time students from those counties will pay no more than $7,000 per semester in tuition and general fees for the next four years.

And thanks to the delayed rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), LEC is still receiving dozens of student deposits, which means the school will have between 700 and 800 students this fall.

“We’re seeing a moment where things are just skyrocketing,” Schuller said. “Given the FAFSA situation, we knew students would be making decisions late, but because of our Tri-County scholarship and some of the improvements that we’ve made, we’re really seeing students come on board.”

e Tower project could also serve as a model for colleges and universities who want to upgrade student housing but don’t have the money (or the stomach) for making costly on-campus upgrades. e Chase Bank building — formerly the Lake National Bank Building — was already sitting empty, since there’s no demand for ve stories of o ce space in downtown Painesville. Because of its proximity to LEC (less than a mile), it was an ideal location for an o ce-to-residential conversion.

But that doesn’t mean it was easy.

“It takes so much to get a project like this together,” Neece said. “First of all, it takes a lot and a lot of money.”

Financing for e Tower included money from WesBanco, federal and state historic tax credits, Ohio Opportunity Zones Tax Credits and Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) funding. Renew Partners also syndicated its tax credits to San Francisco-based Foss and Company.

“It’s a pretty complex stack, but it’s a pretty typical stack for larger projects,” Neece said. “It’s hard for smaller colleges to do this. is is a project that takes a (high) level of knowledge. Colleges are really awesome at what they do, but they don’t necessarily have all the pieces to put together something like this.”

But when those small colleges get the right partners, well, they end up with something like e Tower.

A shelter for the Storm.

“What college right now is really investing in the residence hall space?” Schuller said. “So to have a developer that’s willing to work with us and partner with us to be able to o er that to students, it’s incredible. It’s really exciting.”

Scalzo

The Tower, which offers student apartments for Lake Erie College, is in the historic Chase Bank building in Painesville. | PHOTOS BY JOE SCALZO

The fourth- oor penthouse suite inside The Tower. ners founding

Neece, whose company worked with JCI Contractors on the renovations. “And they’re going to create that vibrancy and that special 24-by-7 neighborhood for the city of Painesville.”

The annual Crain’s Cleveland Business Excellence in HR program honors the region’s top human resources professionals who are building companies and organizations with the best people, talent, development and culture.

Winners and nalists — both as individuals and as teams — have been selected in the following categories: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Employee Experience & Retention; Overall Excellence; and Recruitment.

Honorees were selected by a panel of outside judges, all of whom are human resources professionals and 2023 honorees in the Excellence in HR program. Selections were based upon submitted nominations, for which a third-party testimonial was required.

Scope of work, impact on one’s organization and its employees, and outside awards and recognition were all taken into consideration.

e 2024 Crain’s Excellence in HR Awards honorees will be recognized Aug. 15, during the Best Employers in Ohio event. e winner of the Overall Excellence, Individual award will be announced that day.

e program runs from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Windows on the River, 2000 Sycamore St., Cleveland. More information is available at crainscleveland.com/events.

Excellence in HR 2024 judges

Candice Himes is the director of human resources and talent management at Youth Opportunities Unlimited. e Cleveland-based workforce development organization serves almost 5,000 young adults and teenagers every year, connecting them with summer and year-round jobs, internships and training. In her role, Himes has worked to make Youth Opportunities Unlimited more inclusive and equitable. And she has tried to make the employee experience better, by introducing initiatives like a exible work schedule and paid parental leave.

John Grace, JumpStart Inc.’s chief people and culture o cer, has worked to create a more diverse board and workforce at the Clevelandbased venture development organization. He also has tried to improve the culture and make the organization more transparent across systems. JumpStart works with entrepreneurs, helping them grow through capital and services. Grace joined JumpStart shortly before COVID-19 and helped guide the organization through o ce closures and return-to-work policies.

As director of human resources at Gardiner, Lisa DeBoe has led implementation of a performance management platform and improved the associate experience at the Solon-based professional building services company. DeBoe has overseen employee-focused improvements such as increased 401(k) matches and additional parental leave bene ts, as well as the launch of an o cial diversity, equity and inclusion program.

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE & RETENTION

TEAM WINNER

HD Growth Partners

Human resources is HD Growth Partners’ secret weapon in the accounting talent war. HR Director Meredith Gruelle leads a twoperson team credited with maintaining an annual retention rate at or below 7% in an industry that averages 15%, according to the nomination, and in the face of breakneck growth. e Youngstown-area rm has doubled its size over the last two years.

In-house wellness challenges and programs, such as mealplanning and employee stretching/walk activities, are among the HR team’s forward-thinking contributions. ey also advocated for EAP bene ts, ensured technology resources for work-life integration and assisted in a new career-mapping program. Mar-

INDIVIDUAL WINNER (MORE THAN 500 EMPLOYEES)

Amy Nelson

Director of Employee Development, Cleveland Metroparks

When 2023 survey data demonstrated an 84% overall engagement among Cleveland Metroparks employees, Amy Nelson and the HR team did not rest on their laurels. Instead, the nomination said, Nelson undertook an 18-month initiative to elevate engagement, beginning with focus groups targeting lower-scoring categories. Feedback from a total of 40 focus group sessions over ve months already has informed the development of department-level engagement plans, according to the nomination.

e initiative continues its momentum today, focused on performance reviews and competitive compensation to ensure the park’s more than 800 full- and part-time sta and over 1,000 seasonal workers feel valued and motivated. is latest project builds on Nelson’s earlier e orts,

INDIVIDUAL WINNER (50 TO 500 EMPLOYEES)

Kelly Stofko

HR manager, Corrigan Krause CPA and Consultants

In just over three years, Corrigan Krause has seen impressive growth under Kelly Stofko’s HR leadership. e rm has expanded its workforce by 29% and boasts a retention rate well above the industry average, the nomination said. Employee engagement has also seen a signi cant rise from 72% to 84%.

e nomination attributes much of Stofko’s “resounding impact” on the Westlake accounting rm to her role as “the main driver to the positive employee experience.” rough Stofko’s open-door policy, career counseling and regular check-ins, it said, employees — even those at risk of disengaging — nd a path forward. She acts as a lifeline to new hires, ensuring they’re set up and connected with the right resources, and leads the internship program, successfully

Meredith Gruelle (top), HR director, and Laura Crowgey, HR and wellness coordinator

keting & Events Coordinator Megan Jones wrote in the nomination that an analysis of recent survey and other feedback suggests “100% of our employees intend to stay with our rm for the foreseeable future.”

e team’s e orts culminated in several 2023 honors, including a third consecutive year on the “Accounting Today” list of “Best Accounting Firms to Work For.” “ eir ability to attract and retain top talent, foster a culture of growth and engagement and align their initiatives with our business goals has been transformational for our rm,” Jones added.

which have culminated in a 97% average retention rate for Cleveland Metroparks employees over the past three years, the nomination stated.

“Amy has been a tremendous leader in helping to drive employee engagement, development and training across Cleveland Metroparks’ diverse workforce,” Harold Harrison, Cleveland Metroparks chief HR and diversity o cer, said in the nomination. “Over the past few years alone, Amy has led the creation of a new employee recognition system, enhanced diversity, equity and inclusion training, and launched a formal leadership development program to drive growth and elevate our organization.”

converting seven interns into fulltime employees.

Stofko’s leadership in professional development, performance evaluations and engagement events, from family fun day to tax deadline celebrations, are cited as well. During her tenure, the company has racked up culture-based awards such as Northcoast 99, e Plain Dealer’s Top Workplaces and Smart Business’ Smart Culture Honor.

“Her strategic vision and ability to foster a positive workplace culture have signi cantly enhanced our rm’s performance and morale,” President and CEO Tom Harrison said in the nomination.

Candice Himes

John Grace

Lisa DeBoe

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION RECRUITMENT

INDIVIDUAL WINNER

Celina Cunanan

Chief Diversity, Equity & Belonging Of cer, University Hospitals

Closing equity gaps is at the heart of Celina Cunanan’s transformational tenure at University Hospitals. In just two years of DEI leadership, Cunanan has established six Employee Resource Groups, brought bias training to more than 5,500 caregivers and launched new educational initiatives, including more than 35 one-page “micro-learnings” focused on subjects such as microaggressions, stereotypes and inclusive team building, the nomination said.

Outside UH, Cunanan expanded UH’s Food for Life markets to five under-resourced neighborhoods — an initiative recognized with the American Hospital Association’s 2024 Dick Davidson NOVA Award — and championed the opening of a wellness clinic in Glenville. She also has bolstered external efforts to bring more Black and Brown representation to the medical field by advancing a high school health scholars

TEAM WINNER

program and strengthening medical school partnerships that, among other things, facilitate mentoring and networking opportunities between UH professional and minority students.

In the nomination, Dr. Daniel Simon, president of academic & external a airs and chief scienti c o cer for the University Hospitals, said Cunanan provides “the rationale for the recruitment of a diverse and inclusive workforce within a culture of belonging” by reminding leadership “of published studies that racial concordance between caregiver and patient improves healthcare outcomes and patient experience.”

TEAM WINNER

IHG InterContinental Cleveland Leaf Home Recruiting Team

With HR Director Michele Steele-Jordan at the helm, IHG InterContinental Cleveland charted a course for deeper DEI waters. Among the HR team’s 2023 successes, the nomination said, was hiring colleagues from various nationalities and ethnicities, who brought a wealth of cultural diversity. Languages represented now range from Chinese, German and French to Ukrainian, Hindi and Wolof. e HR department also increased the number of celebrations geared toward diversity and inclusivity. Black History Month, for example, featured a special lunch, a history resource board and community services information, while Pride Month celebrations included dress down Fridays and an LGBTQ+ nonpro t fundraiser.

Nominator Katherine Miracle, a brand and team builder who consults with IHG InterContinental Cleveland, said the HR department fosters a culture of inclusion by hosting engaging events and projects that cultivate a strong sense of belonging.

“ e implementation of DEI activities has helped them thrive during the most di cult times,” she wrote.

Miracle also highlighted equity pay increases and innovative recruitment strategies such as monthly recruitathons — a full day dedicated to recruiting over the phone — onsite job fairs and a system of identifying promising full-time candidates among its temporary contractors as other HR initiatives fueling the luxury hotel’s success.

Among the HR team’s 2023 successes was hiring colleagues from various nationalities and ethnicities. Languages represented now range from Chinese, German and French to Ukrainian, Hindi and Wolof.

Innovative recruitment strategies have transformed Hudsonbased Leaf Home into a Northeast Ohio employment powerhouse.

“If you look at home improvement companies that are not in retail, we have one of the highest interview and hiring volume rates in the region,” Joseph Leno, senior director of recruiting, said in the nomination. “We don’t look at recruiting like other companies do, and that is how we are so successful.”

By implementing initiatives such as an Applicant Tracking System and a chatbot for selfscheduling interviews, the Leaf Home recruitment team has signi cantly expedited the recruitment process. is has allowed the company to onboard over 4,100 new hires year-to-date, ac-

“If

cording to the nomination. e team’s focus on college recruiting, internship programs and structured departmental organization, meanwhile, facilitated the identi cation and acquisition of top talent and helped ensure a diverse employment pool. Finally, the recruitment team collaborated with business leadership to implement succession planning and reevaluate the company’s value proposition, to understand the organization’s needs, the nomination stated. eir efforts to build strong teams and improve employee satisfaction are re ected in recognition on lists such as Great Place to Work lists and USA Today’s Top Workplaces.

you look at home improvement companies that are not in retail, we have one of the highest interview and hiring volume rates in the region. We don’t look at recruiting like other companies do, and that is how we are so successful.”

Joseph Leno, senior director of recruiting at Leaf Home

Joe Leno (top), senior director of recruiting, and Kim Beyer, director of recruiting

OVERALL EXCELLENCE

TEAM WINNER

City of Richmond Heights

Cities can’t function e ectively without great employees, and Mayor Kim omas credits Richmond Heights’ HR team, under the leadership of HR Director Rhonda Lowe, for her city’s “high-performing workforce.” Recruitment strategies focused on hiring individuals with diverse skill sets and expertise and retention initiatives — such as personalized career development plans and competitive bene ts packages — have attracted top talent and reduced turnover rates, omas wrote in the nomination.

She also praised the HR department for “fostering a culture of accountability and high performance” among the city’s 118 sta members through a performance management system that

INDIVIDUAL FINALIST

Susan Crawford

Vice president of human resources, R.E. Warner & Associates Inc.

As the sole HR practitioner at Westlake-based R.E. Warner, Susan Crawford played a pivotal role in the rm’s recent three-fold growth, having been directly involved in hiring over 100 employees within the last two-anda-half years. According to the nomination, in 2023 alone, Crawford’s e orts led to an 81.2% increase in headcount, which directly contributed to a 55% increase in revenue and the distribution of nearly $1 million in bonuses.

Along with her recruitment

INDIVIDUAL FINALIST

prowess, Crawford is credited with a focused approach to optimizing bene ts. She has kept medical premiums in check, the nomination said, and introduced new perks like hybrid work schedules, a vacation purchasing program and pet insurance. In

Rhonda

Lowe (top), director of human resources, and Kathy Gamber, human resources generalist

aligns individual goals with organizational objectives and recognizes and rewards impactful employees. In addition, she said, Lowe’s team has promoted a positive work environment with innovative wellness initiatives, exible work arrangements and employee feedback mechanisms.

“Our HR department is vital in supporting Richmond Heights’ operations by managing its most valuable asset — its employees — and ensuring they are well-equipped, motivated, and supported to serve the community effectively,” according to Thomas.

INDIVIDUAL FINALIST

Rachele Hill Meg Mayhugh

Director of human resources, Osborn Engineering

Rachele Hill joined Clevelandbased Osborn Engineering as its rst HR-designated employee in 2017 and has worked diligently to modernize and optimize the 130-year-old company’s HR function. She oversaw implementation of a Human Resource Information System, overhauled the performance review process, created an onboarding and orientation program, automated the bene ts administration and enrollment process, launched a biennial manager training event and formalized job descriptions and career mapping. Hill is currently creating Osborn Universi-

ty, a formal training and career development for newer employees.

Hill has been particularly effective in recruitment, according to the nomination. “Even during the Mass Resignation, Rachele and her team were able to help the company hit their net hiring

addition, she fostered a sense of belonging through inclusive policies, practices and bene ts and initiated a comprehensive wellness program, including regular Wellness Lunch & Learns and weekly exercise classes. Her efforts culminated in R.E. Warner’s recognition with the 2022 NorthCoast 99 Award and the 2022 and 2023 Plain Dealer Best Places to Work Award.

“As Sue steps into her new role as Vice President of Human Resources, I am con dent that her expertise and leadership will continue to drive our company’s growth and success,” President Ted Beltavski said in the nomination.

Founder and managing director, People Architects

When Meg Mayhugh started People Architects in 2020, the Shaker Heights consultancy focused on remote HR support and recruiting services. In the last year, however, she has led the company into new products to help small businesses thrive, such as an onsite and interim director of HR support, HR assessment and audit services, employee bene ts and engagement consulting and executive coaching. Small businesses tend to not have access to these advanced HR strategies, according to the nomination, and providing them has increased the value of People Architects’ client partnerships, revenue and retention. e company, currently made up of 18 HR professionals, reported yearover-year net income growth of 300% last year.

Lorelle Carpenter, president of Schneiders Saddlery in Chagrin Falls, said Mayhugh has been an

invaluable asset to her business.

In the nomination, she is quoted as saying Mayhugh’s “deep understanding of HR and recruiting challenges, combined with her profound wisdom in managing talent issues, has signi cantly strengthened our team,” and citing speci cally Mayhugh’s impact in helping the saddlery implement an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).

“Her ability to teach and integrate EOS tools across teams has transformed our operational approach, fostering greater accountability and clarity in our processes,” Carpenter said.

“Her ability to teach and integrate EOS tools across teams has transformed our operational approach, fostering greater accountability and clarity in our processes.”

Lorelle Carpenter, president of Schneiders Saddlery

INDIVIDUAL FINALIST

Shannon Seaber

Human resources manager, Euclid Heat Treating

goals,” it said, noting that the company has grown from 150 to 330+ employees during her tenure.

In the nomination, Osborn Engineering President Doug Lancashire called Hill “a di erence maker when it comes to nding and helping recruit talent into the door.” Hill is also involved in several internal committees at Osborn Engineering and is active in its philanthropic efforts. In 2023, she led company fundraising events for the American Heart Association walk and helped raise funds for the American Cancer Society following the loss of two employees to the disease.

Arriving at Euclid Heat Treating in early 2020, Shannon Seaber hit the ground running, successfully navigating the company through the di culties of COVID-19, according to the nomination. Afterward, the nomination continued, she went on to “completely invigorate and modernize” the 78-yearold manufacturing business’ “outdated policies, standards and opinions regarding the workforce.”

Among the updates, Seaber implemented changes to identify and attract employees by expanding from two or three recruitment outlets (online ads and temporary services) to more than six, broadening its reach to under-represented populations like the previously incarcerated, developmentally disabled, high school students and veterans. She also championed popular employee policy changes, such as more exible scheduling, split shifts, cross-

training and additional bene ts for employees.

Outside the o ce, Seaber is a member of the Euclid Women’s Leadership Group and is actively involved with the Euclid Chamber of Commerce, Euclid High School and Auburn Career Center.

Nominator Deidra Minerd, operations manager at Euclid Heat Treating, said, “Euclid Heat Treating has increasingly become a place where people want to work and enjoy their jobs, because of her. As a third generation of this family business, having Shannon on our team gives us the con dence to navigate the future.”

HR STRATEGIES

New workplace trends and how HR should adapt

Remaining competitive in the workplace and creating innovative solutions

MICHELLE H. BUCKLEY, CPA, AIFA®

Vice President, Practice Leader, Bene t Plan Group

mbuckley@meadenmoore.com (216) 241-3272

Michelle is a Vice President in Meaden & Moore’s Assurance Services Group with over 30 years of public accounting experience.

HR professionals know more than most just how quickly business environments change. Workplace norms are always in ux, but the pandemic accelerated the need for HR strategies to evolve more quickly than in years past.

We’ve compiled a list of trends that

could impact your HR strategies in 2024 and 2025. If you want to remain competitive in the workplace, you may need to adopt some new and innovative solutions to address these changes.

Generational shifts

It’s estimated that by 2025, millennials will make up 75% of the labor force. As millennials take over the workforce and move into leadership positions, HR departments are seeing some of the following trends in how the younger generation thinks:

• Authority is earned not given. Seniority is less important to millennial leaders than some other traits. Motivation, innovation, emotional intelligence and leadership style are now weighted more heavily when determining who to reward or advance.

• Business structures are attening. In general, younger generations are moving away from traditional hierarchical business structures. As they take over leadership positions, they may begin shi ing their organizations to honor teamwork and shared decision-making over hierarchy.

• Talent can come from atypical sources. Millennials tend to be open-

minded when it comes to hiring. Many will happily consider candidates with atypical job experiences as long as they have the attributes and skillset needed for the position.

• ey seek meaningful work. Millennial leaders want to work with organizations whose values and ethics align with their own.

New technology

Generation Z are o en seen as “digital natives” by hiring managers. While some baby boomers and Gen X are similarly open to new technologies, younger hires have an inherent understanding of tech that can bene t organizations.

Hybrid work

Most employees aren’t interested in working full-time from home. And employment trends show that businesses are listening. Some estimates report more than half of all companies across a wide range of industries have adopted some sort of hybrid work environment.

How HR strategies may need to change e workplace trends we’ve been seeing

are almost certainly going to require you to tweak your HR strategies.Review your company’s hiring and oboarding process, and think about how to support your employees’ changing values and elevate your company’s culture.

• Engage the new generation. e workers you’re hiring have unique experiences, goals and priorities. Learn what your hires look for and see if you can meet their needs.

• Embrace new technology but do so safely. New technology may improve workplace e ciencies but comes with its own set of problems. Consider arti cial intelligence for a moment.

If you adopt AI technologies in the workplace, a few questions you’ll need to answer are:

• Will AI-generated outputs be traceable to certain employees?

• Will AI change performance expectations?

• How can managers track employee use of AI?

• Will older generations feel pushed out of the workforce if more emphasis is placed on harnessing AI?

• Reevaluate work arrangements.

O ering hybrid work options may

make current employees happy and your business more appealing to new hires, but it presents some of the following HR challenges:

• Proximity bias. Leaders tend to favor employees working from the o ce over those who work remotely.

• Communication challenges. Figure out how you can keep athome workers in the loop and avoid feelings of isolation.

• e HR/employee relationship. If your remote workers want to meet with HR, can they do so discreetly?

•Training and development. e current onboarding system likely won’t work with a new hire working remotely.

As the workforce changes and morphs, HR professionals face new challenges. Addressing these issues head-on will ensure they continue to provide solutions that support not only the businesses they work for but also the employees who rely on them. For more information, contact us today.

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Morgan Foundation expands youth entrepreneurship education

By Paige Bennett

e Burton D. Morgan Foundation is making youth entrepreneurship education resources more accessible with a one-stop shop for educators.

e foundation’s YIPPEE Exchange platform o ers more than 200 programs, resources and experiences designed to cultivate entrepreneurial skills in students and connect them with entrepreneurs in their communities.

With YIPPEE Exchange, the Hudson-based foundation has taken an approach opposite of the traditional grantmaking model, said Emily Bean, director of youth entrepreneurship education at the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and founding director of the YIPPEE program.

marketplace can earn points to select from a menu of entrepreneurial education opportunities, including eld trips, experiences and guest speakers. ey pay for the programs with points they earn through the platform, which are funded by sponsorship dollars.

“We decided we want to create a platform that allows everyone in the community to contribute to the advancement of young people.”

Emily Bean, director of youth entrepreneurship education at the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and founding director of the YIPPEE program

“We decided we want to create a platform that allows everyone in the community to contribute to the advancement of young people,” she said.

Educators who use the online

Sponsors can contribute to educators in speci c geographical areas or at certain school types. ey also can fund speci c types of programming, such as Lemonade Day curriculum or activities.

Bean said the model enables all parties to come together in ways that match their own interests to support entrepreneurial education for young people. e platform, launched in 2022, has grown to more than 2,000 educators across 47 states. More than 10 sponsors have contributed over $700,000 to YIPPEE.

“Educators can experiment with a lot of di erent types of entrepreneurship education resources,” Bean said. “And it’s all in one place. In the past, they may have been connected to a Junior Achievement or Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship, they now can access those resources, but also a lot of supplemental resources, so they’re really building their entrepreneurial muscles.”

Dan Hampu, president and CEO at the Morgan Foundation, said the

program’s overarching goal is to ll a void by equipping young people with the skills necessary to succeed as entrepreneurs.

e Morgan Foundation, founded in 1967 by entrepreneur Burton D. Morgan, is grounded in the mission of “strengthening free enterprise by investing in people and entities that embody the entrepreneurial spirit.” Historically, it has ful lled that mission through agebased grantmaking activities, but its new strategic plan that went into e ect earlier this year shifted the focus to stage-based, or where an individual is in their business process.

Although starting a business is common in the U.S., “we don’t do a ton to prepare, especially young people, for pathways into entrepreneurship and understanding what it means to be an entrepreneur,” Hampu said.

e Morgan Foundation believes small business owners would achieve greater success if they received entrepreneurship education, which could result in the retention of millions of jobs and billions in gross domestic product.

“Burt didn’t go through any type of youth entrepreneurship education,” Hampu said. “Very little was o ered along in his collegiate journey at Purdue. He was really

into ‘How can we better support entrepreneurship education?’ Which he didn’t have and saw as a gap.”  Bean said the platform has grown primarily in areas with sponsorship dollars, including states such as Ohio, Michigan and Missouri. YIPPEE also has taken o in northwest Arkansas, thanks to support from the Walton Family Foundation. e platform has users from a number of other states, but those educators are limited to programs that don’t cost any points.

Unlike the traditional grantmaking model, Bean said the platform makes it easy to receive firsthand feedback. Educators can leave reviews for programs they use, which allows the foundation to get a sense of which programs are effective, Bean said.

“We’re not ltering out any of the bad reviews,” she said. “We’re really able to see how well these di erent products and resources are performing for educators in the classroom.”

Bean said the foundation envisions the platform becoming a local economic development tool. It hopes to localize YIPPEE in di erent communities across the country to connect students with entrepreneurs and expose them to resources in their geographic areas, she said.

Legal Aid Society of Cleveland staffers unionize

By Jeremy Nobile

Employees at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland (LASC) have formed a union in a move that aligns the nonprofit with nearly all other legal aid organizations in the state and many others across the country.

The union, dubbed Legal Aid United (LAU), was created to “increase staff well-being and retention through transparency in managerial decision-making, equity in working conditions, more comprehensive benefits, and just-cause protections,” according to a statement from the group shared by Mike Russell, a senior attorney with Cleveland legal aid and co-chair of LAU’s executive committee.

Opting to primarily answer questions about the union as a collective, LAU said that there was not any one particular trigger event or grievance that inspired them. The effort is something that simply collected momentum over recent years.

“Different members were motivated by different things. However, all wanted more influence over where we worked through a seat at the table,” said LAU, which is affiliated with UAW Local 2320, also known as the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, in the statement.

“The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland was one of the last remaining legal aids in Ohio without a union. There is a tradition of organized legal services organizations, and we felt it was time to join the movement.”

LASC management, which seems generally supportive of the union, chose to voluntarily recognize it in September of last year.

“Our board’s position was we respect our staff and their right to unionize,” said LASC Executive Director Colleen Cotter. “So if that’s what they want, then they have a union.”

EVENT CENTER

From Page 1

“So crawl being, get the space rst up that you could actually bring someone into it, and then we launched Walk Your Plans,” Matejka said. “But the idea was always let’s get that o the ground and then once that’s o and running, let’s start to take our facility and do with it what we really feel comfortable seeing it can be.”

While Walk Your Place is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, e Hall at St. James is available from 5 p.m. onward those same days and all day Saturday and Sunday.

e space has seven projectors (six of which face the oor and one that faces the wall) that, by day, can project possible oor plans for potential homebuyers. But when the space transforms into e Hall, those projectors can be used to display images or videos that enhance the event. Windows on

At this time, organizers continue to negotiate their rst contract, which they’re hopeful to have in place this fall.

LASC has about 150 employees. Around 100 — primarily sta attorneys, paralegals and intake specialists — are now part of LAU. Excluded from that are managers, supervisors and con dential employees.

LAU said that one of its overarching objectives is to simply create what it describes as an even better workplace environment and to “have a voice in how things are run.”

“We just went through a pandemic, in ation is on the rise, and organization funding can be volatile,” LAU said. “Having a union and a contract increases accountability and provides stability and predictability for our members.”

In a bid to convey support and its interest in working together, LASC wrote a memorandum of understanding addressing justcause protections shortly after recognizing LAU that includes guidelines for workplace terminations, discipline and the handling of grievances. LAU accepted that.

“It doesn’t change our culture in, of course, we would only disci-

two sides of the space can be opened or closed with blackout curtains covering them.

e capacity for e Hall is a little over 250 people, and the minimum rent is for three hours at a rate of $500 per hour. e cost includes full use of the space including the lobby area and the full bar and serving area (which is still being completed).

While extras such as tables, chairs or vendors are not included, renters can contact the owners and they will help with the process, Matejka said.

“I think there’s a lack of good quality event space in the area,” Matejka said. “And I do feel that we have the distinct advantage of a beautiful facility. But you combine that with our projection capabilities, and I really think it can kind of be game-changing technology.”

“I want to turn back the clock on the facility that served this community for darn near 100 years,” Matjeka said. “If you look at the building, you can look and say,

In terms of employee pay, Cotter said LASC revised its compensation structure in February 2023. is revision boosted starting salaries for new attorneys and paralegals at the nonpro t to $72,000 (17% increase) and $48,000 (6% increase), respectively.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and 57 represented by UAW Local 2320/NOLSW.

pline someone if there is just cause for discipline,” Cotter said. “So, we just thought it was a sort of easy thing to give assurance.”

“A major goal is more transparency in terms of salaries, raises and steps to promotion.” Legal Aid United

“ at’s a material bene t that we all can enjoy now, even as bargaining continues,” LAU said.

Union representatives declined to share speci cs around their asks due to their ongoing negotiations but touched on some of their wants in more general terms.

As with many unionizing e orts, there’s a push for improved pay, particularly for support sta , and clarity on how to move up in the organization.

“A major goal is more transparency in terms of salaries, raises and steps to promotion,” LAU said.

“Also, in ation is on the rise, and we never want to lose a colleague simply for higher pay or better bene ts.”

LASC reported $16.5 million in revenue for the scal year ending December 2022, according to its most recently available tax ling. e nonpro t’s highest-paid employees are Cotter and Melanie Shakarian, director of development and communications. In 2022, Cotter received $197,097 in total compensation (plus $44,873 in other reportable compensation), and Shakarian received $174,619 (plus $22,835 in other reportable compensation).

As far as equitable working conditions, LAU said that it is looking to establish some better parameters around remote work and exible work hours.

“Currently, who your manager is plays a large role in accessibility to alternative working arrangements,” LAU said. “Our goal is to ratify a contract that will increase access to and provide clearer guidelines for how policies like these are exercised by our members.”

LASC does stand out among some peer organizations in terms of not having a union in place since its founding in 1905.

Steven McGarrity, executive director of Akron-based Community Legal Aid, said that organization has had union representation since the 1980s. About 50 of the 71 sta members there are a liated with UAW Local 2320/NOLSW.

e legacy nonpro ts of the Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio — which was formed in January via the merger of the Legal Aid Society of Columbus and Southeastern Ohio Legal Services — have union representation dating back to 1981. ere are 67 sta ers there represented by the

As far as more recently formed unions, employees of the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati organized in 2023 and secured their rst contract this past spring. eir union, dubbed the Southwest Ohio Legal Aid Brigade, is now represented by AFSCME Ohio Council 8.

Representatives with UAW Local 2320/NOLSW did not respond to requests for comments, including whether there has been any increased interest in recent years with legal aid groups a liating with them.

A representative with the national Legal Services Corp., which advocates for legal aid support and disseminates federal funding to local legal aid groups, said it does not track union activity.

Whether there’s a true unionizing movement afoot in the legal aid space, surveys have shown increased public support for unions in general in recent years. LAU officials see their efforts as fitting in with that broader movement.

While some unions or their organizers may not always get along so well with management, both the LASC and LAU say their negotiations have been collegial so far.

“Negotiating is an inherently adversarial process, especially when it involves colleagues who you see every day,” LAU said. “Nonetheless, we’ve established a productive relationship, and progress has been steady.”

“For me, the important issues are that we respect our sta , we respect their decision, and we will move forward with them and make sure we have a good contract that serves our organization and our sta ,” Cotter said. “At the end of the day, what we are focused on is serving our clients.”

The Hall at St. James hosted a March

The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland headquarters at 1223 W. 6th St. | JEREMY NOBILE

Adults — and cash — only

You probably know this, but buyers of adult-use marijuana products must be aged 21 or older and have a valid government ID to be admitted to a retailer’s sales oor.

Dispensaries continue to predominantly deal in cash, so plan to bring paper money with you. Many retailers have ATMs on site. And some may accept card transactions or use apps for payments, but this varies from business to business and tends to include additional fees.

What products will be available?

Products initially available to adult-use customers will be predominantly the same products that have been available to medical marijuana patients, including cannabis ower, edibles, vapes, concentrates, topicals and tinctures.

Where can you buy it?

Regulators plan to issue dualuse business licenses to operators on a rolling basis in roughly the order in which they’ve received applications. As such, it is not expected that every existing medical marijuana dispensary will come online for adult-use sales at the same time.

Wondering if a dispensary near you is licensed for dual-use? You can check licensing status for speci c retailers and other companies through elicense.com.ohio.gov/s/ licensesearch. You can also tailor that search for a particular city or county.  e retail network will eventually grow as additional dispensary licenses, known as 10(B) licenses, are awarded in the future.

Pre-rolls will NOT be available — for now

e Issue 2 statute approved by

voters last fall requires regulators to nalize rules and regulations for an adult-use market by Sept. 7. Until those o cial rules are in place — and this is where it can get a little confusing — adult-use products and sales are subject to rules set under the medical program. Because adult-use sales will be initially subject to existing medical rules, there will be no pre-rolls available in the early stages of the rec market.

With respect to inhaling, under Ohio medical marijuana rules, vaping is a permitted form of consumption, but smoking is not. is is why there has yet to be any smokable, pre-rolled cannabis products such as joints, blunts or cones available at licensed dispensaries since medical sales began in Ohio in January 2019.  is will change in the future as updated rules are promulgated.

What will products cost?

What actual retail prices will look like on adult-use products remains to be seen.

However, expect elevated prices at the beginning when demand

“What this could bring to Lakewood and Cleveland is huge,” Heller added. “I think there’s a humongous value in that, and there’s people who truly care in this community about this building and the fact that it’s revamping and coming alive again.”

ere is a good chance that if you went to a Catholic grade school on the west side and played basketball, you played in the now-transformed space, Matejka and Heller noted.

And basketball was at the core of a recent event the space hosted as e Hall: the shooting location for Body Armor’s campaign featuring Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell — who recently agreed to a three-year extension with the team.

is high. Additionally, adult-use products are subject to both a 10% excise tax and sales tax.

With an average combined sales and local sales tax rate of approximately 7.24% in Ohio, according to the Tax Foundation, nonmedical products will be taxed around 17%.

Andy Rayburn, CEO of Buckeye Relief and president of OHCANN, the state’s cannabis industry trade group, has previously said that adult-use products may, in general, cost somewhere in the ballpark of about 20% more than medical products now.

Around the end of June, the average sale price on ower in the state was about $21 per one-tenth of an ounce and $7.50 per gram, according to monthly DCC reports.

Prices typically come down over time as a market matures, supply increases and the novelty of legal marijuana wears o .

Are there purchase limits?

Rec customers will, at least initially, be subject to transaction limits framed by medical program

events besides that Body Armor shoot. A 50-member family rented the space for an adult Family Feud Night, the American Society for Interior Designers hosted a life-size game of Clue (utilizing the projectors) and there have been multiple liquor tastings.

Even before it opened to the public, the space hosted a private March Madness-related event.

“ ere’s a lack of good space where you can do high-end presentations where you need visual and ours is literally made for that,” Matejka said.

Having that visual element has resulted in companies renting out the space since they are able to show presentations or have video calls on the wall, at sizes of up to 16 feet by 25 feet, Heller said.

course. But that net total someone is allowed to buy remains the same.

Dispensaries are charged with ensuring that transaction limits are not exceeded. Don’t expect them to bend the rules like sometimes occurs in other markets. Ohio regulators track cannabis closely from seed to sale, and any company found to be breaking rules could be at risk of losing anite, and highly coveted, business license.

There are still bene ts for medical patients

While Ohio’s medical marijuana market has been lackluster from an overall business perspective, there are still nearly 166,000 active and registered medical patients in the state and nearly 40,000 caregivers who aren’t being overlooked as the adult-use market comes online.

rules that set permitted supply amounts — quanti ed in “day units” — for medical patients over periods of 45 and 90 days.

According to DCC o cials, at the outset, buyers of nonmedical marijuana may not purchase more than 10 day units worth of products in total, per day, across all types. at applies whether buying one product type or mixing and matching.

For ower, a day unit equals one-tenth of an ounce, or 2.83 grams.  e most an adult-use buyer could purchase of one product type on a particular day is:

◗ One ounce of ower 1,100mg THC of edibles

◗ 5,900mg THC in vapes or concentrates at permitted sales amount does not reset if a customer looking to stock up buys the maximum daily supply at one store and then goes to another. Sellers will use a buyer’s ID to enter a purchase into a database — run by Metrc — which prevents this from occurring. You could buy half the daily maximum at one store and half at another, of

Medical patients will be given priority over rec customers. If there’s a line at the store, medical buyers can skip to the front.  ere’s also the added bene t of skirting the excise tax as a medical customer.

And earlier this year, DCC dropped the annual fees for medical patients and caregivers from $50 and $25, respectively, to one cent.  ere are still separate fees for meeting with a physician with a certi cate to recommend marijuana to a rm medical marijuana qualifying conditions, of course, but registration fees are virtually eliminated.

Worried about lines?

Some dispensaries may accept call-ahead pre-orders, so customers worried about lines may want to check to see if they can schedule an order to pick up in advance to get in and out of a store more quickly.

Some shops even have drive-thru windows for pre-order pickups. But again, this varies, so consider checking with a store rst if that option interests you.

EXECUTIVE RECRUITER

‘OK people have used this building for a lot of time for a lot of stu ,’ and I just want to have it go back to that, where the community has access to a really cool facility.”

e space is open for any type of event including showers, baptisms, weddings and corporate parties.

Since launching e Hall in full on June 1, it’s hosted a variety of

Not only is the space able to be rented out, but Matejka said he wants to eventually host free events to engage the community to come in and enjoy the space and see what it has to o er.

Workers tend to marijuana plants at the Standard Wellness Co. cultivation facility in Gibsonburg, Ohio. STANDARD WELLNESS CO.

The Hall at St. James can be rented out for weddings or receptions. NATALIE KENDRICK

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Blue Point Capital Partners

Sean Ward, a partner with Blue Point Capital Partners, a private equity rm with resources in Cleveland, has been elected to a four-year term on the Board of Trustees of Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, one of the nation’s most historic and innovative four-year colleges where multidisciplinary learning breaks the conventional mold.  Sean earned a B.S. in Economics from Allegheny College and an M.B.A. from John Carroll University.   Sean and his wife reside in Hudson, Ohio.

NEOMED announced the appointment of Tonya Strong-Charles as chief marketing of cer. She is responsible for all internal and external communications, effectively highlighting NEOMED’s dynamic programs, engaged faculty and outstanding students. An accomplished marketing and communications leader, StrongCharles has successfully developed results-driven media outcomes centered on thought leadership, raising regional and global awareness of the institutions she has represented.

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Amy Lowell, APRNCNM, MSM has joined MetroHealth as Director of the new Midwifery Program. With more than 29 years of experience, much of that time in Cleveland, Lowell will lead a team of Certi ed NurseMidwives in providing more options for prenatal, pregnancy, and well-woman care in the Cleveland area. Certi ed Nurse-Midwives excel at helping women understand their healthcare options, and are fully integrated into MetroHealth’s OB-GYN team.

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CWRU joins top ranks in the U.S.

Case Western Reserve’s School of Medicine named as ‘tier 1’ institution for research

By Paige Bennett

Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine has been named one of the top in the country for research by U.S. News & World Report.

OhioGuidestone

Julia Bruner MD, MS, MBA, FAAFP, joins OhioGuidestone as Chief Medical Of cer overseeing clinical best practices. Dr. Bruner is recognized for improving community behavioral health practices at MetroHealth where she served as Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health and Correctional Medicine. She advocates for equitable access, spearheading initiatives to enhance clinical care in challenging settings.   Kathleen Kern, Ph.D., joins OhioGuidestone as Vice President of Quality and Clinical Care bringing invaluable experience as the Director of Behavioral Health at Lorain County Health & Dentistry and Executive Director of Lorain County Board of Mental Health. Dr. Kern enhances quality and clinical outcomes through data-driven strategies.

The publication’s annual rankings of U.S. medical schools, which came out Tuesday, July 23, lists CWRU’s School of Medicine a “tier 1” institution for research, along with 16 other schools, including Yale University, Vanderbilt University and Mayo Clinic School of Medicine.

Two other Buckeye State institutions — Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati — also were recognized as tier 1 medical schools for research.

U.S. News & World also published a list of the best medical schools for primary care training. In that category, Case Western earned a tier 3 ranking, while Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati were both listed as tier 2.

Rather than rank schools numerically, U.S. News & World Report opted this year to group schools into four tiers, with tier 1 schools being the highest performers and tier 4 the lowest. A school’s tier was determined based on its overall score, which was calculated by summing the weighted normalized values across multiple indicators, including grants and research activity, according to U.S. News.

The publication evaluated data from 102 medical and osteopathic schools for research and 99 for primary care. The new tier system came as a number of highranking institutions, including Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities, elected not to submit data for this year’s rankings.

About 20% of the top 100 medical schools in research and primary care in the 202324 rankings declined to participate or submitted responses that lacked key data, according to U.S. News. Critics have argued that the rankings present a narrow view on medical schools and that the methodology does not capture efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion.

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