Crain's Cleveland Business

VOL. 38, NO. 12

MARCH 20 - 26, 2017

Focus

Source Lunch

Party planners learn to cope with the rising cost of event food. Page 10

Terrence S. Robinson, executive director of Magnet’s Early College Early Career program

The List

CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Largest airlines serving Cleveland, Akron Page 22 GOVERNMENT

County is taking its time with arena plan

By JAY MILLER

Turnover at the top in Akron For a city of about 200,000 people, Akron has seen a remarkable number of its top leaders retire or otherwise leave their positions in the past two years. From the top echelons of local government to Akron’s university and some of the city’s biggest corporations, there are new faces to be found in a lot of corner offices these days.

1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

jmiller@crain.com @millerjh

The $140 million plan to expand and update Quicken Loans Arena is proving to be something of a test for the still-young Cuyahoga County Council, putting it in a spotlight usually reserved for the more visible and argumentative Cleveland City Council.

The result has been a deep dive — lasting five weeks so far — by the council over the deal negotiated over more than 18 months by a team led

by County Executive Armond Budish and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, who will manage the renovation, would like the deal to move quickly, so they can start construction as soon as the basketball season ends (likely in June).

At a March 14 meeting of what council calls its committee of the whole, eight of 10 members present voted to move the plan on to the agenda of the next full council meeting, set for March 28. Council members Nan Baker and Jack Schron voted against moving the legislation along, preferring that council wait until the state budget is approved in June. Councilwoman Yvonne Conwell was not present at the committee meeting.

“I’ve done a lot of these,” said county financial adviser Timothy Offtermatt, who has served as an adviser and underwriter for professional sports complexes and other similar civic projects across the country. “This is the most debate I’ve ever been involved in — in like 35 of them.”

In part, the complexity of the deal justifies some of the meeting time.

But the time also has stretched on as a reaction to the size and early disruptiveness of the overflow crowds, which are the largest the council has ever seen that have shown up at all of the meetings.

Page 23

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Don Plusquellic Mayor, Akron In office: Jan. 1987 – May 2015 The end: Akron’s longestserving mayor ended 28 years in office when he stepped down, citing as his primary reason unfair treatment by the city’s daily newspaper.

2002

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

In office: 1999 – 2014 The end: After a tenure that transformed the university from a hodgepodge of buildings separated by city streets into a bona fide campus, Proenza took a year’s sabbatical and rejoined the university as a faculty member.

Line of succession: The university’s board of trustees voted unanimously in 2014 to appoint Scott Scarborough, who came from the University of Toledo, president.

Scott L. Scarborough President, University of Akron

2003 2004

Luis Proenza President, University of Akron

Line of succession: Garry Moneypenny (appointed) then Jeff Fusco (appointed) initially replaced Plusquellic before the election of current mayor Dan Horrigan, pictured.

(Horrigan’s service noted in blue)

2015 2016 2017

In office: July 2014 – May 2016 (Service noted in blue) The end: Scarborough’s term was marked by controversial fights, including with school faculty, over budget cuts, spending on the president’s house, and rebranding the university as “Ohio’s Polytechnic University.” He resigned in May 2016 but remains on as a professor.

Line of succession: After serving as interim president for several months, Matthew Wilson, dean of UA’s School of Law, in October was appointed president of the university until mid-2019. (Wilson’s service noted in green)

Anthony Alexander President, CEO, executive chairman, FirstEnergy In office: Jan. 2000 (as president) – April 2015 (as executive chair) The end: Alexander, FirstEnergy’s longest-serving CEO with more than 10 years in that role, retired after working for FirstEnergy in various positions for 43 years.

Line of succession: Longtime FirstEnergy executive Charles “Chuck” Jones, who was chosen from internal and external candidates, replaced Alexander as CEO and president in January 2015.

(Jones’ service noted in blue)

Bob Kulinski President, CEO, United Way of Summit County In office: June 2000 – March 2015 The end: Kulinski retired after 40 years with United Way, 15 of those years running the organization and reportedly raising more than $170 million as CEO.

Line of succession: He was replaced by Jim Mullen, who came from United Way of Metropolitan Nashville and has been met with praise from other civic and nonprofit leaders.

(Mullen’s service noted in blue)

Paul Greig President, CEO, FirstMerit In office: May 2006 – Aug. 2016 The end: Greig retired from the bank following Huntington’s acquisition of FirstMerit, a deal that reportedly netted him as much as $31 million in severance compensation.

Line of succession: FirstMerit was absorbed as a result of the transaction, but Nicholas Browning serves as Columbusbased Huntington’s regional president in Akron.

Russ Pry Executive, Summit County

Dr. Thomas “Tim” Stover President, Akron General Health System

In office: Jan. 2007 – July 2016 The end: After building a position as one of the county’s and region’s most effective and collaborative leaders, Pry passed away unexpectedly from illness on July 31, 2016.

He was 58.

Line of succession: Pry’s county colleague, Ilene Shapiro, easily won election to replace him after serving as interim executive in what most said was a smooth leadership transition.

(Shapiro’s service noted in blue)

In office: Feb. 2012 – May 2016 The end: Stover announced he would retire early following the Cleveland Clinic’s acquisition of Akron General.

He announced his immediate retirement in May 2016.

Line of succession: Following an interim stint

by Janice Murphy, Brian Harte was named president of the Cleveland Clinic’s Akron General subsidiary.

(Harte’s service noted in blue)

Dr. Thomas Malone CEO, Summa Health System In office: Jan. 2014 – Jan. 2016 (announced resignation) The end: Malone faced a near rebellion after he made a contentious decision not to renew the contract of emergency room physicians. He resigned less than a month later.

Line of succession: Formerly Summa’s chief operating officer, Malone replaced 15-year CEO Thomas Strauss.

Malone was replaced by interim CEO Dr. Cliff Deveny, pictured.

Malone’s permanent replacement has yet to be named.

Crain’s graphic by David Kordalski and Dan Shingler

City endures ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ change

By DAN SHINGLER dshinger@crain.com @DanShingler

SEE ARENA, PAGE 19

Entire contents © 2017 by Crain Communications Inc.

It would be difficult to find a city the size of Akron, with a population of just under 200,000, that has seen the departure of as many top leaders as the Rubber City has in recent years.

But even with changes at the top of Akron’s major corporations, government entities and university, observers say the town is far from rudderless. If anything, they say, Akron has found renewed energy and an influx of new and often younger leaders.

But no one denies the extent of the changes.

“I really think Akron right now is in a once-in-a-lifetime period of concentrated change,” said Mark Schef-

fler, president of Leadership Akron, which works to foster and groom the city’s current and future leaders.

The old guard The list of leaders who in recent years have left top-level positions in the city is striking, to say the least.

The wave began with the retirement of University of Akron president Luis Proenza in 2014 after 15 years of leading the institution.

Proenza’s departure did not cause much alarm. Neither did the departure of United Way of Summit County head Bob Kulinski, who retired in spring 2015 after more than 40 years

in various roles with county’s leading philanthropic institution. The same held true when Anthony Alexander retired as the executive chairman of FirstEnergy Corp.; he had been with the company for more than 40 years as well.

Then things got crazy. Don Plusquellic, Akron’s longest-serving mayor, abruptly retired in May 2015 after a bitter feud with the Akron Beacon Journal, a fight the mayor blamed for his departure. What followed over the next year and a half was a torrent of departures that were as unexpected and sometimes shocking as Plusquellic’s.

SEE TURNOVER, PAGE 21

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Big Medicaid cuts would have vast impact

By LYDIA COUTRÉ lcoutre@crain.com @LydiaCoutre

Hospitals, researchers and advocates in Northeast Ohio worry that the initial draft of the GOP’s proposed health care law could force them to make tough business decisions that could ripple into the region’s economy.

The nonprofit Center for Community Solutions estimates the Medicaid funding model proposed in the American Health Care Act would cost Ohio between $19 billion and $25.6 billion between fiscal years 2019 and 2025. Hospitals and advocates say that could translate to reductions in workforce, services and programs.

“There’s only so many things that, as a business, institutions can do,” said Loren Anthes, public policy fellow with the center and author of the report. “To me, I see other ripple effects in the economy generally because of this, especially with rural hospitals, who tend to be more economically sensitive to Medicaid expansion.”

Large cuts to Medicaid funds would have a dual economic impact, Anthes said. First there’s the providers, and hospitals’ strength as an employer and economic engine. And on the other side are the patients, who “rely on Medicaid to make sure they don’t fall off a fiscal cliff to where they have unmanageable medical debt,” he said.

The proposed health care law — the Republicans’ step toward repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act — includes a reduction of $880 billion in federal outlays for Medicaid.

“If you have one in four Ohioans covered by Medicaid and suddenly, that number goes down and the reimbursement goes down, is health care economically stable as an employment source, as an economic force in the region and in the state?”

Anthes said. “I would argue that it threatens the stability of the health care industry in Ohio generally.”

The Ohio Department of Medicaid delivers health care coverage to more than 3 million Ohioans, with roughly 700,000 gaining coverage through the state’s expansion of Medicaid.

When faced with reduced reimbursement, there are three basic levers in the state to decrease costs: cover fewer people, cover fewer services or pay less for services, said Tim Jarm, president and CEO of the Center for Health Affairs. Hospitals understand the significant budget issues facing the nation, and want to sit at the table and be part of the solution, Jarm said, but that solution cannot be through making cuts “on the back of the providers.”

Ultimately, officials say, these federal cuts would fall to providers, who would continue to treat patients seeking care. And hospitals, too, have limited tools to balance their budgets.

Heidi Gartland, vice president of government and community relations for University Hospitals, said

that with a significant reduction in Medicaid funds, the system would have to reduce employees, cut services or scale back programs. Drastic cuts would squelch innovation and force the system to look at how it invests in education or builds new programs, she said.

Health care providers in general — not just UH, Gartland said — would end up passing losses to the commercially insured patients if Medicaid and Medicare don’t pay their fair share. That becomes “sort of the hidden tax” as federal funding is reduced, she said.

As such, continued coverage is a top priority for UH, Gartland said.

Tracy Carter, MetroHealth’s senior director of state and federal government relations, echoed that concern.

Roughly 28,000 of the patients MetroHealth serves are connected to the expanded Medicaid population, and that coverage has been “vital” to the health and wellbeing of those covered and their families, as well as to the health system. Moreover, the expansion of Medicaid coverage has been a crucial piece of the health system’s dramatic financial turnaround over the last few years.

Through a spokeswoman, the Cleveland Clinic — the region’s largest health system and employer — said it was premature to comment, but noted the system was concerned about losing Medicaid funding.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released an analysis last week that estimates that 14 million more people would be unin-

sured next year, and by 2026, a total of 24 million people would become uninsured. This report “causes alarm,” Carter said.

The Center for Community Solutions’ estimate that the state could lose as much as $25.6 billion indicates that more people will be uninsured, but they will continue to have health needs and access care, Carter said. MetroHealth would do “everything within our power” to continue serving its patients, but many hospitals already operate at little or no margin, she said.

“It’s going to be hard for us to sustain additional cuts or reductions in payment,” she said. “And ultimately, what that translates into (is) we have to make some uncomfortable or tough decisions around the services and workforce.”

All of Cleveland’s largest hospitals, though, have been operating in the black, but that’s becoming more difficult. The Clinic, for instance, stomached nearly a 50% drop in operating income in 2016 over the previous year.

UH’s Gartland said hospitals “will probably be worse off in the new bill” than before the Affordable Care Act, for a couple of reasons.

For one, providers made some concessions with the ACA and agreed to take some cuts to reimbursements with the understanding that more people would be insured. If millions lose coverage, hospitals say those payments need to be restored, including disproportionate share payments. Those payments increase under the new legislation, but would

DISCOVER

“certainly never” be on the order of the potential gaps, Anthes said.

Also, Gartland said, the new Medicaid model shifts to a per-capita capped allotment. It’s similar to the block grant model, which had been floated as a possibility. Block grants would be an overall cap on the total annual federal contribution, whereas the per-capita approach laid out in the American Health Care Act would account for the volume of patients in a state through a per-enrollee limit.

Jarm said that a capitated model would be the preference in a choice of “the lesser of two evils.”

Providers also worry about other adjustments within the legislation. It requires that states re-determine eligibility more frequently — at least twice a year — which could impact individuals’ ability to maintain coverage, Anthes said. The bill also eliminates retroactive eligibility for Medicaid.

Providers and advocates were glad to see some of the popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act continue, such as allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until they’re 26, consumer protections around pre-existing conditions and a focus on value-based purchasing models.

“Those are the things we like, we support. We have no issue with those,” Carter said. “But when you talk about the coverage, the eligibility, the payments to providers, those particular provisions, we feel we want to have further dialogue about, because what we see right now is unacceptable to us.”

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Nordson ‘strategically’ adds to offerings Westlake manufacturer has made four acquisitions this year, including a $705M purchase

By RACHEL ABBEY McCAFFERTY rmccafferty@crain.com @ramccafferty

Westlake-based Nordson Corp. has started 2017 out strong in the acquisition space.

In the first two months of the year, the maker of precision dispensing equipment and systems has completed three acquisitions and announced one more. The most recently announced acquisition of a portion of Vention Medical, for more than $700 million, is the most significant of the four and is expected to close in the second quarter of Nordson’s fiscal year.

Nordson has always used acquisitions to add to its portfolio, but in the past, it was more opportunistic, said president and CEO Mike Hilton.

Now, the company is more strategic about its acquisitions, and it’s an important component to creating growth in slow economic times.

“You never can control the timing of these things,” Hilton said during an interview last week. “The important thing is to strategically know what you’re interested in, to establish relationships early, and to be there when everybody’s ready and take advantage of it. So that’s kind of what we do: to have a continuous pipeline of opportunity that fit our strategy.”

That doesn’t mean the company will do the same number of acquisitions each year. In 2016, Nordson had just

one: LinkTech Quick Couplings Inc. But so far in 2017, Nordson has completed the acquisitions of plastic dispensing and packaging products maker Plas-Pak Industries Inc., selective soldering systems maker InterSelect GmbH and the assets of selective soldering systems maker Ace Production Technologies Inc. Terms of those deals weren’t disclosed.

Vention Medical, which was owned by private equity, is being split in two, and Nordson is purchasing the Advanced Technologies business for $705 million, according to a news release. The segment, which makes minimally invasive products for the medical industry, reported sales of $150 million in the 12 months ending Jan. 31, 2017.

Hilton said it’s just a coincidence that so many acquisitions happened at the start of the year. And given the “size and scale” of the Vention acquisition, Hilton said the rest of 2017 likely will see the company looking at smaller deals, if any, but that it would be ready for another large deal in about a year.

Relationships that lead to deals often are established “years in advance,” he said. Nordson identifies the areas it would like to acquire in, based on whether growing organically would be too difficult or too time-consuming, and then gets to know the properties in that space, even if owners aren’t yet ready to sell.

Currently, Hilton said the company’s main areas of interest are plastic

“The important thing is to strategically know what you’re interested in, to establish relationships early, and to be there when everybody’s ready and take advantage of it.”

—Mike Hilton, Nordson president and CEO

packaging, test and inspection, room-temperature adhesive dispensing and medical.

Medical is a particularly interesting area of growth for Nordson. The aging of the population is a big factor, but so is a move to plastic components that can be disposed of, Hilton said. Minimally invasive products also are popular, and companies are outsourcing more products outside of their core focus, Hilton said.

In 2010, when Hilton joined the company, Nordson had “virtually” no medical business, Hilton said.

Last year, medical made up about 8% of the company’s portfolio, he said, and when the Vention acquisition is complete, it will be up to 15%.

Altogether, these acquisitions will add up to “close to a couple-hundred million dollars” in additional revenue, Hilton said, which is significant compared to the approximately $1.8 billion the company posted in sales in the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2016.

Nordson looks for acquisitions that fit well into their existing business, but that also offer room for growth. For example, Plas-Pak fits into one of the company’s existing businesses, but also puts Nordson into a new market with its products in animal health, Hilton said. Or take LinkTech. The company primarily operated in North America, but now Nordson can use its reach to globalize it.

The common theme is the “solution-based approach” that lets Nordson work closely with customers to craft highly engineered products, Hilton said.

Elliott Schlang, managing director of Great Lakes Review, said the acquisitions don’t change the firm’s opinion on Nordson. Great Lakes Review looks for midsize Midwestern companies that dominate their niche, he said. Nordson already is one of its “favorite” industrial companies, Schlang said, and that doesn’t rely on acquisitions. Instead, Great

Lakes Review likes that Nordson has a strong hold on its markets, gets sales from emerging markets and has a strong free cash flow.

KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. had been neutral on Nordson, but upgraded the stock to “overweight” on Feb. 14. Although Jeff Hammond, managing director, equity research, said KeyBanc looks at the deals favorably, the shift wasn’t a response to the acquisitions. It was confidence that Nordson’s technology business would continue to grow. The four acquisitions made this year have all been in that space, with the two larger ones — Plas-Pak and Vention — in medical, which is less cyclical.

Of course, acquisitions are about more than adding products and sales.

It’s also about people. Nordson takes the acquisitions on a case-by-case basis, bringing in new leadership when necessary or preserving strong leadership teams when possible.

“I think the first step is: Don’t screw up something that’s really good,” Hilton said. “So whatever the magic is in the company you have, you want to make sure you don’t screw that up.”

But the company does look for efficiencies. That may mean consolidating smaller facilities into larger ones or introducing Lean Six Sigma into a plant, Hilton said. And it looks to create “revenue synergies,” he said, by cross-selling between customers or taking what was a regional company to a global audience.

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Cuyahoga Community College’s mobile training unit, which costs $340,000, is 53 feet long and is divided between classroom and lab space. (Cuyahoga Community College photo)

Tri-C is providing on-the-spot training with new mobile lab

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Cuyahoga Community College wants to help close the manufacturing skills gap by taking training directly to companies and students.

All it needs is an open section of parking spaces to house the Tri-C Manufacturing Technology Center of Excellence’s new mobile training unit.

The mobile training unit looks like a semi-truck from the outside. Inside, the trailer is split into a technology-equipped classroom and a flexible lab space that can be adapted to best serve the population at hand.

“We’re really fully equipped to be a mobile classroom,” said Alicia Booker, vice president of manufacturing.

This is part of Tri-C’s Manufacturing Technology Center of Excellence.

The center is an effort to bring together all the college’s manufacturing technology-related education, Booker said, from academics to workforce development.

Booker said the mobile center is a response to the growing pockets of advanced manufacturing jobs outside of Cuyahoga County, in areas such as

Lake, Ashtabula and Summit counties. While Cuyahoga County is clearly a focus for Tri-C, the college doesn’t want to hew so closely to boundaries when there are companies that need its services. Most of the workforce training Tri-C currently offers in manufacturing takes place at its Advanced Technology Training Center and the Unified Technologies Center, both on Woodland Avenue in Cleveland.

“How do we reach where the need is?” Booker said.

The mobile training unit helps answer that question by letting the college provide training when and where employers need it.

This mobile lab expands Tri-C’s advanced manufacturing footprint without infrastructure costs. The trailer cost $340,000, according to information provided by the college.

The 53-foot-long trailer is split half for classroom space and half for lab space, said program manager Freeland Southard. The classroom portion has a whiteboard, an overhead projector and 10 desks, arranged so all students can see the front of the room. There are windows in the trailer so it’s not so closed off, and carpet on the walls to muffle sounds from the outdoors. The back is equipped

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with electricity that can handle large equipment — Booker said it’s designed to be “plug and play,” so as long as a piece of equipment fits through the door, it can be used.

Southard said the trailer is wheelchair accessible and has a security system installed.

This mobile training unit is the center’s first, Booker said. And while other organizations have mobile labs or mobile classrooms, she thinks this stands out because it has both. It’s designed to be a “training center on wheels,” Booker said.

The renovated mobile lab was delivered in January, Booker said, and is now being rolled out at events.

Tri-C also is reaching out to companies, K-12 schools, community colleges and universities in the area to show them what the mobile unit can be used for.

General Motors’ Parma plant plans to use the mobile manufacturing unit to help train its journeyman electricians, said Lou Chapman, UAW Local 1005 apprentice co-chairman. The 10 apprentices just began in January, and GM intends to start using the mobile unit to help with their preliminary classes in April, Chapman said.

Previously, apprentices had to drive to Tri-C’s facilities in Cleveland for training, Chapman said. The mobile training center will save them that commute. Plus, the mobile training center is easily adapted to the site’s needs, he said, and to its hours of operation.

Email us at

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PA G E 5

Tremont church sells, will add residents

By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com @CrainRltywriter

Failure of the last functioning boiler at Zion United Church of Cleveland has ended its run as a home for the faithful and opened the door to its reuse as apartments in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood.

Real estate developers Andrew Brickman and Dan Siegel have joined forces to undertake conversion of the church building and adjoining school, which date from the 1880s, to apartments. The property is at 1467 West 14th Street.

“We have a design that will allow us to keep the ceiling of the chapel visible as we install two floors of apartments inside the building,” Brickman said. “It’s going to be amazing.”

Siegel acquired the massive stone Gothic-style church last year. He later asked Brickman to join him in the project because Brickman has dealt regularly with church sites and remakes in for-sale residential housing projects. The two also are partners on Brickman’s planned apartment-office complex on West 20th next to the Hope Memorial Bridge in the Duck Island corner of Tremont.

Siegel said he pursued the church site for more than two years before closing the deal.

“It’s centrally located on West 14th Street in Tremont and has a parking lot, which is huge. We’ll be able to offer a parking spot for each suite,” Siegel said.

A two-phase plan is in the works for the project. The first phase incorporates putting apartments inside the church and a similarly designed church school. A future phase may add another six suites on part of the site not needed for parking.

Siegel said the two are studying whether to seek federal and state historic preservation tax credits for the

The Zion United Church of Cleveland property on West 14th Street was sold last August. (Stan Bullard)

project. However, the developers want to move as soon as possible after going through the city’s design review process. Going the historic tax credit route means 18 months of delay and undertaking the risk that the project might not secure an award.

Both also are unsure if they can accomplish what they want and meet requirements for adaptive reuse of a historic structure — even if that may leave funds on the table they might have garnered.

In either case, Brickman emphasized the duo is going to retain as much of the property’s historic char-

acter as possible.

“One of the suites will include the bell tower,” Brickman said, referring to one of the highest points in the near West Side neighborhood. Siegel estimates the project will cost about $2 million to develop.

“It’s a smaller project. It’s easier to finance,” Siegel said.

Siegel knows first-hand the demand for the one- and two-bedroom units planned for the church. He owns apartment buildings in Tremont and Ohio City that are almost fully leased, he said.

Cory Riordan, executive director of

the Tremont West Development Corp., said it’s sad the church had to sell the property, but that people in the neighborhood are enthusiastic about the building’s potential reuse as a way to maintain it.

The project will need approval from the city’s Landmarks Commission as well as go through Tremont’s design review process, Riordan said, but he expects zoning to accommodate conversion to rentals.

The building may change, but the church will remain in operation because it has leased the first floor of the school for its continued operation.

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The church that began serving German immigrants in Tremont at another location in 1867, according to the Cleveland Historical site at Cleveland State University, will downsize, but it will not disappear.

The current buildings are the congregation’s second on the same location.

Keith Konet, president of the Zion UCC congregation, said regular attendance has dwindled over the years to about 20. However, the main church building can accommodate 1,500 worshippers. Heating and maintaining the structure became a burden years ago.

“We resisted any tendency to sell until our one functional boiler quit,” Konet wrote in an email. “The congregation reluctantly but unanimously decided that we needed to sell.”

Moreover, he said, the rise in Tremont property values is such that it could sell at a price that funded modernizing the first floor of the school as a new worship area.

Cuyahoga County land records do not disclose a price paid for the property, which Siegel and Brickman bought through SPT Properties LLC on Aug. 25, 2016.

As the seller was a church, it did not pay conveyance fees on the sale, which triggers the typical disclosure of a sale price. SPT valued the property at $671,000, but that does not reflect the value of the church’s lease in the school.

Although Brickman and Siegel are business partners in two Tremont joint ventures, they operate separate businesses. Siegel owns more than 30 apartment complexes — several thousand suites throughout the region, but does not disclose the full size of the portfolio — he operates through Beachwood-based Integrity Realty Group.

Brickman’s best-known venture is operating Brickhaus Partners, which has produced edgy, high-end for-sale townhouses at locations ranging from Little Italy to Fairview Park.

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Crafty Jo-Ann Fabric aims to retarget its in-store Wi-Fi users

By KATE KAYE Advertising Age

Hudson-based Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores wants to retarget its instore Wi-Fi users with ads served online.

The craft supply and fabric seller recently enabled Wi-Fi in all of its 850 stores across the United States, something the company considers “table stakes� for any modern retailer. But those Wi-Fi connections, in conjunction with the registration data gathered from those opting-in to use them, also will allow the retailer to learn more about shopper behavior and to build digital identities that help link shoppers’ physical instore visits to other data about them.

Brick-and-mortar retailers have been trying to increase sales through a variety of technologies and data offerings, such as mobile location data showing whether their ads influenced people to visit their stores, or beacons, which help determine where in stores people linger while shopping. While Wi-Fi seems like a basic provision for large retailers, for Jo-Ann, it is a relatively cost-effective means of obtaining an important data key to link their physical interaction with the brand to their online identities.

In order to connect to store Wi-Fi and in exchange for coupons — 20% off an entire purchase, for example — Jo-Ann requires shoppers to provide an email address, a standard requirement for most such Wi-Fi connections. The company is turning that information into customer insights for use in future marketing by working with partner Euclid Analytics, a firm that serves multi-location retail brands and quick-serve restaurants, helping them generate real-time identification via Wi-Fi registration for customers who visit their locations.

Starting in the spring, Jo-Ann plans to serve ads and other communications such as emails to people if they came to the store but didn’t make a purchase, not unlike the common tactic of retargeting online shoppers who browsed an e-commerce site but didn’t buy. “We’ll start targeting people who come in, are permissioned into Euclid, but don’t buy,� said Steve Miller,

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Jo-Ann Fabric, which is based in Hudson, has enabled Wi-Fi service in all of its 850 stores across the United States. (Jo-Ann Fabric)

“We’ll start targeting people who come in, are permissioned into Euclid (Analytics’ software), but don’t buy.� — Steve Miller, vice president of marketing and business development, Jo-Ann Fabric, on email communications

vice president of marketing and business development at Jo-Ann. The Euclid Analytics system recognizes when a customer who has opted in to use the Jo-Ann Wi-Fi in the past returns to a store with the same mobile device. “You’ve got full visibility into their behavior,� said Euclid Analytics CEO Brent Franson.

And the retailer knows whether its point-of-sale transaction data shows a purchase that can be linked to a name or other information associated with someone who enabled the Wi-Fi. Jo-Ann already has what Miller calls a “very large customer database� of tens of millions of customer profiles, including contact informa-

tion and third party data. Ideally, the company now can connect that information via email addresses to information gathered during Wi-Fi sessions in its stores showing how long people stayed in a store or whether they sometimes visit stores outside of their area.

The data flows through the Euclid Analytics platform and is integrated with Jo-Ann’s central CRM data hub, managed by AgilOne, and its email system, Oracle’s Responsys.

According to Miller, setting up WiFi in all Jo-Ann locations, which is enabled by Cisco-owned Wi-Fi provider Meraki, was a “low six-figure investment.� When people register to connect, they must provide an email address and “agree to provide device’s location to Jo-Ann and its partners for analytical and marketing purposes.�

The incentive to provide a legit email address comes in the form of a coupon they can use while at the store, which is sent to that address.

During this past holiday season, JoAnn ran Facebook ads targeted to people who had used the Wi-Fi in its stores, along with look-alike consumers modeled on characteristics associated with those opt-in Wi-Fi users.

The retailer found that the ads targeted to the Wi-Fi-based look-alike segments produced six times the number of store visits compared to those attributed to ads aimed at standard Facebook look-alike segments.

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TravelCenters buys former Catan’s spot

By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com @CrainRltywriter

TravelCenters of America LLC operates 318 truck stops, convenience stores and restaurants ranging 3,000 miles across the United States from Manchester, Maine, to Eugene, Ore. But the Westlake-based, publicly traded company found additional space to expand just 500 feet away from its headquarters at 24601 Center Ridge Road.

Through TA Operating LLC, TravelCenters on March 1 paid $2.2 million to acquire the former Westlake Pat Catan’s store building, 24839 Center Ridge Road, from Strongsville 24601 Center Ridge Rd-based Catanzarite Investment Corp., according to Cuyahoga County land records.

Thomas O’Brien, TravelCenters’ managing director, president and CEO, said in a phone interview last Monday, March 13, that the company needs space to expand due to its recent acquisitions and expansion.

“We’re not sure if we will use the existing building or replace it. We just closed on the property,” O’Brien said.

“It’s (almost) next door.”

The headquarters operation needs the room. O’Brien estimated the company added more than 50 jobs over the last year to bring its main-office staff to about 450.

TravelCenters occupies a contemporary office building it bought in

2011 at 24601 Center Ridge Road. It also leases space at the adjoining Point 6 Building, 24651 Center Ridge, which sits between the just-purchased building and the TravelCenters headquarters.

Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough said he is glad that TravelCenters found room to expand near its existing building and took the empty former retail building off the market.

“This will allow them to create more of a campus,” Clough said.

TravelCenters plans to expand its parking lot on land behind its existing building, but hasn’t discussed a proposal for the Catan’s site or sought incentives for an expansion there.

The former Pat Catan’s building, which dates from 1981, has two stories with a total of 30,000 square feet of space. It also sits on more than 4 acres, according to county tax records.

The crafts store formerly at that site moved in January to a long-empty grocery store location at 1499 Columbia Road. The new location for the Strongsville-based unit of Irving, Texas-based The Michaels Co., now operates on a single floor and is closer to the I-90 interchange.

Mike Catanzarite, CEO of the Lamrite West unit of Michaels, wrote in an email that the former two-floor store was “very hard to work” and the new location is larger, with 50,000 square feet of selling space.

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Opinion From the Editor

Distractions are work in progress

Editorial

Get it right There aren’t many second chances in life, but the Ohio Legislature has an opportunity to fix a problem — the gouging of vulnerable consumers through payday lending — that it tackled unsuccessfully in 2008.

State lawmakers Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, and Mike Ashford, D-Toledo, on March 8 introduced a bill that would prevent payday lenders from charging more than 28% interest plus monthly fees of 5% on the first $400 loaned, or a maximum of $20. The bill also would prohibit charging monthly payments that exceed 5% of a borrower’s gross monthly income.

They’re attempting to bring some sanity to payday lending in Ohio, where the typical annual percentage rate on such a loan is 591%, according to the Small-Dollar Loans Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts. As Crain’s finance reporter Jeremy Nobile pointed out in two stories this month, that rate is up to four times higher than what borrowers pay in other states, including Colorado — a state with payday lending laws that the Koehler/ Ashford bill closely mirrors.

Back in 2008, as the recession was beginning to grip the country, Ohio legislators passed a law that capped payday interest rates at 28% and limited loans to $500. Payday lenders disliked the legislation, but Ohio voters rejected ballot efforts to repeal the law later that year. Lenders, though, found a loophole by issuing loans under the Mortgage Loan Act, which doesn’t cap interest rates and demands that loans be repaid in a single installment.

The result: reform on paper that in practice offered no relief.

The payday lending business thrives in Ohio, nearly a decade after the first reform effort. Indeed, Pew says Ohio has more than 650 payday loan storefronts in 76 counties.

Koehler and Ashford have done their homework, though, and have crafted a bill that directly addresses the loopholes that rendered the 2008 reform so ineffective. Alex Horowitz, a senior research officer at Pew, reviewed the bill and told Crain’s it was “well-designed and thorough,” and would provide three func-

tions of a healthy and fair payday loan industry: affordable installment payments, lower prices and quick access to credit.

The last of those three points is important to acknowledge.

Short-term lending, as one Crain’s reader put it in an online comment, “satisfies an unfortunate but very real need” in the marketplace. Count yourself as fortunate if, say, a $500 car repair is easily handled in your household, but for many Ohioans, that kind of expense requires short-term lending.

The industry’s typical response has been to argue that reform proposals will restrict access to credit and put lenders out of business. That’s already the argument from the Ohio Consumer Lenders Association, which says it opposes the bill. Pew’s Horowitz, though, says research done in Colorado and elsewhere shows those concerns do not hold up to scrutiny and that the industry can continue to operate profitably in a reform environment.

We believe this new bill would bring some much-needed balance to payday lending in Ohio. The bill has the support of the Cuyahoga County Mayors and Managers Association, the Cuyahoga County and Lake County Veterans Service Commissions, Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland and the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp.

Unknown as of now is whether Republicans in the GOP-led Legislature will get behind it. Payday lending reform originally was announced last December, but it was put on hold after Republican Rep. Marlene Anielski decided against sponsoring the bill. Koehler has taken up the cause to give the bill a Republican ally, but the party in recent years has not shown much of an appetite (to put it mildly) for pursuing financial regulatory reform.

Perhaps Republicans across the state will look at the 2016 election results and conclude that voters’ deep desire for change might extend to making sure that people with shortterm financial crunches aren’ t put in a long-term financial hole by lenders clever enough to exploit legal loopholes. Legislators have a chance, finally, to get it right. We hope they take it.

Publisher and Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com)

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Timothy Magaw (tmagaw@crain.com)

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Every day at the office starts with the best intentions. The todo list is made. The attitude is right. Today, I tell myself, I’m going to own that list.

Then the phone rings. The printer breaks. The cell phone buzzes. “Got a minute?” The answer to those will always be “yes.” I’ll answer the phone, fix the printer, respond with a text, and talk to any colleague who needs help.

Next thing you know, the random car alarm goes off outside the office window and my train of thought has left the station.

We can all agree that workplace distractions are endless, which makes telecommuting so appealing for more American workers than ever before. According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report, remote Elizabeth working continues to increase. In 2016, 43% McIntyre of employees spent some of their time working remotely, compared with 39% of American workers in 2012.

When ticking off the benefits of telecommuting, employees often cite increased productivity, a better work/life balance, and the always-popular reason, “I can just roll out of bed in my pajamas and just start working.”

I’m sure that Robert E. Kelly can tell you about the benefits of telecommuting. The professor of political science at Pusan National University in South Korea works at home occasionally, especially when he provides analysis on Korean political matters for media outlets such as the BBC and The Washington Post. Kelly, a former Ohioan, and his family recently became an overnight media sensation after his 4-year-old daughter and 8-month-old son crashed his home office during Kelly’s live interview with the BBC. It was the video seen around the world, with, at last count, more than 100 million viewings. (Personally I’m responsible for about two dozen of those viewings; I can’t get enough of it. The kids living in the moment. The dad trying to keep it together despite the mayhem surrounding him. And the mom trying to discretely corral the kids. She succeeded in corralling them. Discretely? Not so much.)

I couldn’t help but think about the dynamic of work offices vs. home offices after seeing the video. For all the benefits of working from home, there are challenges and distractions.

Susan Polakoff Shaw knows firsthand the good and bad that can come from working remotely, and when she first saw the so-called “BBC dad” video, she immediately sympathized with Kelly’s plight.

“I totally get it,” said the owner of Polakoff Communications, which specializes in media and public relations for small business, sports and events. “That is my world right there, without the kids. You are trying to maintain this professional atmosphere and then, just like that, it’s shattered.”

Polakoff Shaw has had phone interviews with clients interrupted by her dogs barking, the neighbor’s lawn mowing and an assortment of other unexpected happenings.

“You learn to adapt,” she said.

Polakoff Shaw also has learned strategies over the 25-plus years she’s worked from her home office in Cleveland. It’s critical to work from a dedicated office space in your home. She even has a bed under her desk for her two dogs to sleep while she works. She also makes an effort to leave the house at least once a day. “You have to get out because you are working and living there all day long,” she said.

It’s also important, she said, to find professional connections, especially for those who are self-employed and working at home. She has found Creative Mornings Cleveland, which offers free monthly events, particularly helpful for maintaining and creating professional contacts.

So workplace distractions and challenges, I learned, exist in the office and at home. I’m going to develop better strategies to manage them, as soon as I check the latest March Madness scores and clear that paper jam in the printer.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited. Send letters to Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113, or by emailing letters@crain.com. Please include your complete name and city from which you are writing, and a telephone number for fact-checking purposes.

Sound off: Send a Personal View for the opinion page to emcintyre@crain.com.

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Sterling finds office solution across street

By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com @CrainRltywriter

Growing demand for employee background screening is fueling job growth at the new home for Sterling Talent Solutions’ operation headquarters in Independence.

The growth prospects prompted the New York-based company to hire 62 workers for its Rockside Road operation last year and move its 225-person workforce there to a new office that opened Monday, March 13. The new office is in 40,000 square feet at Freedom Square III office building, 4511 Rockside Road. Previously, it was across the street at Oak Tree Place, 6111 Oak Tree Boulevard.

The firm’s office on the third and fourth floors of Freedom Square III will allow it to accommodate more than 350 employees. If things go as planned, it will need the room. Sterling designed the space to attract employees, particularly recent college graduates.

“We moved into an office for the 21st century,” said Jason Morris, Sterling’s Cleveland site leader and senior vice president of client success. “It’s bright and high energy,” and contiguous to boost communication and house staff more efficiently, he said.

Sterling’s prior offices were spread over three floors of its old building, as it had expanded on a suite-by-suite basis as it grew there.

The firm expects to hire at least 65 more workers — it calls them “team members” — in the coming year.

Hart

Morris

Clare Hart, CEO of Sterling, said in a phone interview that the company decided to make Cleveland its operations headquarters because of the quality of the workforce. Sterling entered the Cleveland market in 2015 by buying Warrensville Heightsbased EmployeeScreen IQ, which later consolidated operations into the Independence office it already

had. Hart said Sterling shed operations staff in California and West Virginia as it elevated the south suburban location as its worldwide operations center.

For the Rockside office, the firm hires lots of employee verification specialists who do online background checks on new hires of its clients. Other jobs are in sales and account management.

Hart said increased hiring by its clients due to economic growth is less a factor for Sterling than the trend of people working multiple gigs, and increased regulation of the sector.

“A company may screen a worker who also works for three other companies,” Hart said. The Independence-based workforce is part of a

company that also provides on-boarding services for new hires of clients. Sterling has 4,000 workers of its own at 20 offices in nine nations around the globe.

Morris noted that Sterling’s hiring here benefits from seven nearby colleges and universities.

“Because of that, I enjoy running the business here,” Morris said.

The new office features a cafe and an open office environment, which allows the staff to benefit from the windows. And yes, it has pool and pingpong tables.

Hart said the company even enjoys the lack of traffic congestion on Rockside — something no one in Northeast Ohio would cite — because it’s light compared with other cities where the firm operates.

Sikora helps bring welcome update to title law

By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com @CrainRltywriter

A key part of buying and selling real estate in Ohio will change beginning April 6 as a revised law governing title to properties becomes effective.

For Cleveland attorney Michael J. Sikora III, the date marks the successful conclusion of a six-year quest.

Sikora, a real estate title agent and owner of real estate title firm Omni Title LLC as well as CEO of Sikora Law LLC, took advantage of becoming president of the Ohio Land Title Association trade group to answer questions out-of-state customers often asked him: Why was Ohio’s title law so different from that of other states?

A committee of lawyers formed by the association found the Ohio law

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differed from those of other states in dozens of respects. Moreover, none had been untouched by state legislators for so long. The Ohio law dated from 1961.

“This took our statute from one of the worst in the country to one of the best in the country,” Sikora said of the title modernization law.

Other real estate lawyers who deal with defects in title said the update was needed and credit Sikora’s personal efforts for making it happen.

Roccina Niehaus, a Cincinnati lawyer who frequently lectures on title issues and litigates cases involving ownership disputes, used a single word to describe Sikora’s role with the law: instrumental.

John “Jack” Waldeck Jr., chair of the real estate practice at the Cleveland law firm Walter | Havefield LLP

and a member of the Ohio State Bar Association’s land title committee, said Sikora worked hard on the matter.

“He really took this bull by the horns,” Waldeck Sikora said. “He helped draft the legislation and testified (twice) on it.”

Gov. John Kasich signed Senate Bill 257, which had been introduced by Ohio Sens. Michael Skindell, a Lakewood Democrat, and Bill Seitz, a Green Township Republican who has since become a state representative.

The new law will “make a huge difference” for people owning property in Ohio, Waldeck said.

Title issues come to the fore when

there are disputes about a property’s ownership. Sometimes, the problem can be as simple as not having the signature of all the appropriate people with an interest in it, even though a county recorder accepts the deed.

That later generates litigation.

Title companies deal with uncertain areas by issuing exceptions to them when writing insurance policies guaranteeing clear ownership when a property transfers.

“This will speed up title reviews,” said Robert Greggo, general counsel of Surety Title of Cleveland.

The most important change is that the new law limits the period that parties may contest title issues to four years. The current law was 21 years.

Often that meant difficulties tracking down parties that should have signed the sales document, or they may have died — or it might have

passed through multiple owners.

For Sikora’s part, the new four-year “cure” period for parties to make claims regarding title defects is a vast improvement. The longest term any other state had was 10 years.

Asked how many hours he put into the measure, Sikora’s voice dropped as he answered.

“I really believe it has been in the hundreds,” Sikora said. “But it took a lot of people to make this happen.”

One area that plaintiffs may suffer due to the new law is in foreclosure proceedings. Attorneys trying to block lender actions often assail problems in the title as a means to attack a mortgage’s validity. It’s easier to find errors with more than two decades to find some.

“However, four years is adequate time,” Waldeck said. “It’s not like it’s instantly legitimized.”

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Focus MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER

Is a good meal out of reach?

Party planners find ways to cope with the global trend of rising food costs

By SUSAN CONDON LOVE

Inside this section

clbfreelancer@crain.com

Achieve: The Lawson family knows the travel business inside and out. Page 12

Corporate meetings, annual banquets, nonprofit galas, weddings — what do they all have in common?

Food and beverages typically take center stage.

So when industry experts report that food and beverage prices are rising globally, concern may rise among event and meeting organizers, caterers and even consumers that the higher costs might have a dampening effect on events in which food and beverage costs represent from 30% to 50% — or higher — of an event’s budget.

Examining both national food price trends and anecdotal evidence from Northeast Ohio event industry experts shows that the dollar-and-cents of meetings and events may not be dramatically affected. But the slow creep of rising food and beverage prices is being felt.

Added to the pressure is Cleveland’s higher visitor profile — thanks to the Republican National Convention and an explosion of new hotels — is working against event planners looking to rein in costs. When demand for hotel rooms is high, for example, there is less incentive to provide discounted rates to groups wanting to hold corporate meetings, speaker series or galas. Also, hotels wanting profit from group businesses also historically turn to the next biggest expense — food and beverages — to boost the bottom line.

Q&A: The Rock Hall’s Anne Siegel can throw quite the party. Page 14 Big gatherings: Here’s a taste of the events taking place in Cleveland in the second quarter. Page 15 Five to watch: Meet five people who can help make your party one to remember. Page 16

Before assessing the impact of food prices on private, corporate or nonprofit events, there is a need, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture economist Annemarie Kuhns, to understand the categories of food prices: “food-at-home” versus “food-away” costs. Food-away is food purchased at a restaurant or any venue away from home; foodat-home includes grocery purchases. Food-athome prices declined overall in 2016, falling 1.3% below 2015 levels — the first annual decline in supermarket prices since 1967, she said.

However, food-away prices increased by 2.6% in 2016 over 2015 — or “very close to the historical average of annual increases,” Kuhns said.

There are a lot of factors playing into the cost increase of “food-away,” aside from impact factors that include bad crops, long-term droughts (specifically in California), or fluctuating and abnormally high temperatures disrupting growing cycles, Kuhns pointed out. Those factors include rental costs, caterer expenses, the popularity of venues and salaries of those working the events.

Making do With 40,000 square feet of event space, Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights hosts some 100 to 300 events a month in its six banquet halls, a ballroom that can be divided into two rooms, tented patios and outdoor space. The venue can accommodate five to six events simultaneously. And business is as brisk as ever, despite the food and beverage price increases, according to Charles Klass, executive vice president of Executive Caterers/Landerhaven.

“By assessing our own operations and structures, we can see how we can mitigate the price increases internally,” Klass said.

By offering the whole package — audio/visual, decor, food, entertainment, floral, bakery and valet parking — Landerhaven can absorb price fluctuations much easier than other businesses without that ability.

“We are a one-stop vendor, which simplifies the process and keeps costs competitive,” Klass said.

In addition, clients may be sheltered from as much as 18 months of price increases.

“We frequently have clients signing their contracts and placing down-payments 18 month ahead of the event,” Klass said. “We honor those prices.”

SEE FOOD, PAGE 18

Crain’s illustration by David Kordalski

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PA G E 11

MEETING AND EVENT PLANNER

Gilbert to lay out vision for CLE 2.0 With a successful Republican National Convention now in the city’s wake, David Gilbert is expected this Thursday, March 23, to lay out Destination Cleveland’s vision for what it has described as “Cleveland 2.0.”

Gilbert, the president and CEO of the local travel and tourism bureau, will offer his address at the organization’s annual meeting, which will be held at Severance Hall in University Circle. Registration starts at 3 p.m., with the program expected to run from 3:30-4:30 p.m. A reception will follow. Tickets are $50 for Destination Cleveland partners, and $75 for non-partners.

Gilbert’s address last year took place just three months before the Republican National Convention came to town — which, by all accounts in the media and from visitors, was a rousing success for the city. At the time, Gilbert said the RNC was “not our destination.”

“It’s the place we’re starting from,” Gilbert said last year.

Destination Cleveland’s annual meetings typically feel almost like a pep rally. Last year’s, for one, featured NBC weatherman and host Al Roker to lead the cheering. Roker was lead weatherman at WKYC-TV, Channel 3, from 1978 to 1983.

This year, meanwhile, has seemingly started off briskly for the city’s

tourism efforts.

Notably, from Jan. 14 to 17, the American Bus Association held its annual convention in Cleveland. That meant 800 bus-tour operators — people Gilbert who decide which cities and national parks thousands of travel over the next couple of years — got a firsthand look at the city.

At the time, Mike Burns, Destination Cleveland’s senior vice president of convention sales, said 25% of the bus association’s attendees had never been to Cleveland.

“When we talk about how much the RNC meant to us, this piece of business reaches much further out,” he said at the time. “(Attendees go out) into Amish country, they go to the lake, wineries, and other assets.”

He added, “Historically, cities that have hosted this group in the past have seen an uptick in group tour business into their market over the next five years a minimum of 15%,” he said. “In many instances, particularly if you are an undiscovered city, it’s going to be higher.” — Staff Report

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Achieve’s success has been a trip for the Lawson family

By DOUGLAS J. GUTH

RECEPTIONS • WEDDINGS

clbfreelancer@crain.com

MEETINGS • HAPPY HOURS

1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44114 • 216.515.8420

It’s not hyperbole to say the Lawson family has spent a lifetime getting to know Achieve Incentives & Meetings, a travel company launched

by Chuck and Marge Lawson in 1952.

Siblings Scott, Randy, Linda and Bonnie were stringing baggage tags onto luggage by age 5, and working with international hotel managers as teenagers.

The Lawsons have harnessed their global knowledge to sustain and expand an enterprise that started as a travel agency, transitioning years later into one of the world’s first corporate incentive travel businesses.

Achieve creates travel-based rewards programs and organizes business meetings and corporate events for clients representing a range of industries. Whether it’s a dinner meeting in Orlando or a product launch party in London, the company aims to design a customized “trip-of-alifetime” experience for top performing staff.

Achieve builds out 40 to 60 corporate events annually, each accommodating from 20 to 1,000 guests.

Achieve founder Chuck Lawson in Russia. (Contributed photos)

Staffers are on site at every meeting, managing minutiae such as transportation, catering and even swapping a hotel room feather pillow for a hypoallergenic replacement upon request. The agency is as an extension of the client, to the point where team members wear the company name on their lapels during events.

“We take care of all the outside details so companies can focus on their

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MEETING AND EVENTS PLANNER attendees, their goals and the message they’re delivering at an event,” said Achieve vice president of sales Scott Lawson. “We’re representing our customer, and we take that very seriously.”

That client focus never wavers, even when events balloon to 5,000 attendees. Achieve’s smaller size — the company has 15 employees, six of whom are members of the Lawson clan — allow it to integrate seamlessly with customers and react rapidly to the inevitable programming snafu, said vice president Linda Lawson.

“Our team becomes part of their team,” Linda said. “We’re like producers or directors in the background helping the client look good.”

Some problems are bigger than others: Linda once rebooked an entire program from Maui to Albuquerque in 24 hours when a hurricane was scheduled to strike the Hawaiian island. Mundane issues like flight delays or extra hotel accommodations are handled with the same alacrity, said Bonnie Lawson, who manages Achieve’s air-based programming.

“People are happier when they’re on vacation,” Bonnie said. “It’s wonderful creating special memories for them.”

A family affair The Wickliffe company is now on its third generation of Lawsons, thanks to the recent hire of account executive Ashley Lawson, Bonnie’s daughter. Diane Lawson, wife of Achieve president, Randy, also works for the company.

The family’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1952 when Chuck and Marge Lawson established a retail travel agency in Elyria. The 20-something couple met corporate executives, hotel managers and airport officials, and as the business grew they tabbed group travel as a lucrative new opportunity. From there the current incentive company was born, opening in 1959 at the Hanna Building downtown.

Over the years, the founders recruited their children for “gofer” jobs, with those responsibilities evolving into escorting client trips both domestically and overseas.

Most of the Lawsons had other careers prior to joining the company full-time. Randy, previously an executive with Sysco, said he never forgot the drive for service his father impressed upon him. Putting client needs first is also a good way to defuse any business-related disputes he may have with his siblings.

“We have disagreements, but it always turns on the point of what we need to do to service a customer,” Randy said.

While the Lawsons use each other as sounding boards, family intimacy doesn’t mean talking shop 24 hours a day.

“There’s a family relationship and a professional relationship,” Ashley said. “A win for any of us is a win for this company.”

Achieve has been managing Kinetico’s awards ceremony since 1990, with the annual event taking employees to Mexico, Jamaica, Bermuda and other destinations. Achieve assists the Cleveland water treatment systems manufacturer in all aspects of its programming, from site selection and contract negotiations to coordinating guests’ travel arrangements.

“I’ve probably worked with all the Lawsons at one time or another,” said Karen Puzder, senior marketing manager at Kinetico. “They’re wonderful people who are dedicated to

Marge and Chuck Lawson were known for their toga parties.

making our company and its employees look like heroes.”

Achieve’s greatest strength is its ability to maintain long and fruitful relationships within the industry, Puzder notes.

“It seems that no matter the destination, the team knows people, or they quickly develop a rapport with them,” said Puzder. “That speaks volumes in a business where one might have to be demanding to get what you want for your client.”

For their part, the Lawsons find endless satisfaction in brainstorming motivational trips that represent a small but critical facet in a client’s ongoing success.

“We’re helping them build profits and sales,” Ashley said. “That can be a powerful economic development tool for a company.”

Achieve’s Ashley and Linda Lawson.

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Anne Siegel knows how to plan a party. It’s a skill she harnessed growing up in the small town of Perry, Ohio, when she planned slumber parties. She’d design color-coded name tags, assign sleeping spots and even send her guests home with favors. Today, she’s the chief party planner at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — namely the events surrounding the inductions in Cleveland, fundraising galas and exhibit openings. And if there’s one thing musicians and rock die-hards know how to do, it’s party. Crain’s recently sat down with Siegel, who also plans events on the side, to talk about how her passion for planning and what it takes to pull off an event that truly sings. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. — Timothy Magaw How did you get into professional event planning?

I was an interior designer, and I ended up getting a summer job working for Stephen Tokar, who is an amazing designer. He was putting on these epic event celebrations and was in charge of the whole logistical event experience — from the décor down to the fork you ate off of. That’s when I fell in love, and decided I wanted to plan events the rest of my life. My mom even said, ‘I’m not sending you to college to plan parties. You’ll never find a job!’ This was before event planning was cool.

You mentioned how your college (Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa.) didn’t have an event planning major, so you created your own?

I went to the heads of graphic design, interior design, business, culinary arts. Basically, at the time I wanted to plan weddings, so I took a wedding as my sample and pulled every aspect of an event and found the courses I needed to take. All the way down to an etiquette class, so I knew how to talk to someone when I greeted them at the door or how to lay down a fork. I just threw myself in, and a lot of people thought I was crazy. Now here I am, planning events for the Rock Hall — inductions, galas — high-end, high-profile events. I’m really lucky. The Rock Hall has given me my wings.

What does your job entail now at the Rock Hall?

The inductions in Cleveland. I’m not the person who puts on the inductions. It is a whole team of us — hundreds of people and bodies. I get to work on the theme for the pre-parties, after parties, the menus, the red carpet experience where the guests come in. Anything ‘party’ and ‘event’ related — I get to get involved in the designing of the overall guest experience. I work with community members, board members, staff, coordinate over 100 volunteers because we do two weeks of events. It’s more than the pretty stuff, which I love. I get into all the details of charts, graphs, checklists, maps and post-it notes.

And with the inductions coming back next year, our first planning meeting is next month.

What’s your favorite part of event planning?

The creativity. If we’ve done it before, I don’t want to do it again. Last year I wanted to do this deconstructed American flag cake for the Rock, Power & Politics exhibit. We spent months working with caterers, but they all knew I just always felt like we could make it one step better. And the night of the event comes, there was this amazing display. It’s those moments after months of planning when you walk up to something you were so passionate about — some small detail — and it’s epic. These things can excite people and inspire them. And that’s part of our mission — to engage, teach and inspire. I take great pride when somebody says I threw a kick-ass party. When I hear that, job’s done. How can we elevate this event next time? How can we make it better? That excites me.

What about your personality lends itself to event planning?

I’ve always been a creative, artistic and silly individual — I never take myself seriously or others very seriously. If we’re not having fun, we’re doing something wrong because we’re throwing a party. Yes, there’s a structure to it, and that’s important. But at the end of the day, it’s a party. You need to have a good time. It’s what keeps you inspired. The best quote someone ever told me is you should never throw a party you wouldn’t want to attend yourself.

That’s what I live by — down to the napkin or fork they’ll eat off.

So many details. How do you balance them all?

You have to go to other people for help. I’m savvy enough now that I’ve learned I can’t be the be-all, end-all for everything. When you’re so thick and deep in the details, it’s easy to overlook something. I take those opportunities to have checks and balances with the staff. You can’t think it’s all about you.

What’s your philosophy when it comes to vendors?

I’m big on doing things with other event planners and spreading the vendor love. Of course, you’ll always have your favorites, but sometimes there’s this trend toward using all of the same vendors. Yes, it’s a trust SEE ROCK HALL, PAGE 17

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A taste of what’s coming Coming off a successful first quarter highlighted with the American Bus Association’s annual meeting in January, Northeast Ohio’s meetings and conventions business continues to go gangbusters, according to Destination Cleveland, the local tourism and visitors bureau.

Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Summit 2017

Cleveland will play host to more than 50 meetings and conventions and more than 22,000 associated visitors during the months of April, May and June.

Estimated attendance: 1,200

Many of these events, according to Destination Cleveland spokeswoman Jennifer Kramer, are citywide conventions, meaning they will employ a combination of venues, including three or more hotels. Here are just a few of the events taking place in the second quarter that Destination Cleveland has booked — the economic impact of which is estimated to be more than $12 million, Kramer said. —Timothy Magaw

Eby-Expo East 2017 When: April 4-5 Estimated attendance: 1,500 Headquarter hotel: Hilton Cleveland Downtown Location: Hilton Cleveland Downtown Description: Eby-Expo describes itself as a convenience store supplier and wholesale food distributor of tobacco, candy and convenience products.

Forging Industry Association Forge Fair 2017 When: April 4-6 Estimated attendance: 500 Headquarter hotel: The Westin Cleveland Downtown Location: Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland Description: The Forge Fair is North America’s largest event dedicated to the forging industry. It allows forging professionals to check out new products and network with others in the industry.

Hockey Time Productions When: Two weekends in April Estimated attendance: 1,000 per tournament (2,000 total) Headquarter hotel: Multiple suburban hotels Location: Barons/Lakefront Arena and Gilmour Academy Description: Hockey Time Productions specializes in youth hockey tournaments.

Ceramics Expo 2017 When: April 25-27 Estimated attendance: 3,500 Headquarter hotel: Cleveland Airport Marriott Location: I-X Center Description: The Ceramics Expo bills itself as allowing visitors to see first-hand and up close the innovations in materials, processes and products that are driving today’s ceramic manufacturing industry.

Manufacturing and Technology Conference and Expo When: May 8-10 Estimated attendance: 800 Headquarter hotel: Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center Location: Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland Description: Among several topics, attendees can learn about the latest technologies, how to address retention and recruiting challenges and the latest in leadership best practices.

Foundation Software Inc. Users Conference When: May 17-19 Estimated attendance: 700 Headquarter hotel: Hilton Cleveland

Downtown Location: Huntington Convention Center Description: Foundation produces construction accounting software.

When: May 22-24 Headquarter hotel: Hilton Cleveland Downtown Location: Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland Description: The summit, returning to the convention center for the fourth year, said it brings together health care executives committed to not just patient or caregiver experience, but also the human experience.

2017 North America World Union of Jesuit Alumni Conference When: June 28-July 2 Estimated attendance: 2,000 Headquarter hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Cleveland East Beachwood Location: John Carroll University Description: The World Union of Jesuit Alumni holds an international Congress every four years to gather Jesuit friends and alumni from as many as 50 countries. This is the first time it has been held in the United States.

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Five to watch in the events industry Whether for an office holiday party or 400-person, high-end wedding, the success of an event often comes down to a carefully orchestrated team of vendors. In many cases, they’re entrepreneurs who started their businesses from nothing. Here are five of Northeast Ohio’s events professionals we think you should know about. Do you know someone in any industry who has a story worth telling in a future section? Let Sections Editor Timothy Magaw know at tmagaw@crain.com.

Melanie Tindell

Nova Williams

Heather McCoy

Brad Petty

Somer Khouri-Bedran

Oak & Honey Events Description: Tindell is all-too-familiar with the amount of trash an event can produce, and oftentimes, many of the items used in these productions aren’t sourced locally. The average wedding, for one, produces about 400 pounds of garbage. That’s why she founded Oak & Honey Events, a planning and design company that helps clients reduce their environmental impact. “I love creating a vision for our clients and bringing it to life through planning and design,� said Tindell, whose business serves weddings, nonprofit and corporate clients. Oak & Honey also is responsible for the launch of the Recycled Wedding Boutique, a flea market of sorts where newlyweds can sell their old wedding wares.

N’Dulgence Catering Co. Description: Williams, admittedly, doesn’t cater to large affairs. Her take on southern cooking and seafood tends to lend itself to more intimate gatherings.

Williams, whose business is based out of the Cleveland Culinary Kitchen, specializes in drop-off catering for up to 50 people. “This soul food is what I grew up eating,� Williams said about her passion for her culinary creations. She added, “I’ll be in the kitchen for 12 hours, and I never get tired of it.� Fried chicken, crab legs, seafood gumbo, andouille sausage and crab cakes are just a few of her specialties. Her dream? To open up her own small take-out restaurant — just like the ones she frequented growing up with her family.

Fair Rarity Flowers

Me Him & Her

A Charming FĂŞte

Description: McCoy’s stint in the floral industry started while working at a large flower shop, answering phones and taking orders. She began designing displays when the rush of Valentine’s Day took over. “I suppose they recognized some natural ability because they let me design for them instead of taking orders, and I’ve been doing it ever since.� She honed her skills at a prestigious floral studio in New York City, and eventually launched her own business. At Fair Rarity, she works exclusively as a wedding florist and only takes on one client per weekend. “I think prospective clients approach me because of a shared love of a natural, more organic style,� said McCoy, who is also a classically trained ballet dancer.

Description: Petty’s business essentially created itself.

His professional background includes print advertising sales, nightclub management and professional DJing. All told, those skills add up well for Me Him & Her, a Cleveland-based DJ booking agency he founded. “I know how to create a successful marketing campaign for an event, manage the staff at said event and make sure the soundtrack is amazing,� he said. Petty — a professional DJ for more than 20 years, or MisterBradleyP as he’s known — can do it all, but he’s carved out a niche in booking the best entertainment he can find. “Music makes or breaks events and really separates an average party from a unique experience,� he said.

Description: Khouri-Bedran’s favorite part of her job as the events director for A Charming FĂŞte is when a client is “almost in tearsâ€? (happy tears, of course) and wowed by the work that was done. “It can be a very stressful job as all the glamour and beauty comes after the hard work has been finished, but the final product is what makes it rewarding,â€? she said, who founded the company with Lisa Costin. A Charming FĂŞte has done hundreds of weddings, corporate events and even editorial shoots.

The company not only plans but also designs. “The secret to good event planning is truly knowing and understanding what your client wants,� Khouri-Bedran said.

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ROCK HALL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

thing — and I get it. If you’re having a big event, there’s the unknown of working with someone new. If a vendor wants to get into the Rock Hall, I try my best to do it. I don’t know how big of a slice of the pie I can get them. But if there’s no opportunity for any other participation, I don’t think that’s fair.

What’s the most challenging aspect of your job?

Making everyone happy. There are so many personalities — vendors, staff, attendees. For example, it’s a challenge saying something isn’t right for the floor staff but right for the attendees. How do we put together a compromise? The last thing you want to do is put a bad taste in someone’s mouth before they walk through the door. That creates more work than anything. It’s a give and take.

What’s the most misunderstood thing about event planning?

That it’s this glamorous job. There are some people who think I just pick out a pretty menu, put on a dress, show up and drink all night. When people ask how glamorous it is, I show them a picture from the inductions of me in a back room, wearing a gown and eating pizza. It was 2 a.m. and I hadn’t eaten all day.

That picture should be my Christmas card. I love that it can be glamorous, but it’s also hard. There are lots of long hours and tired feet.

When you’re planning an event at the Rock Hall or for one of your clients on the side, what are the first things you ask before kicking off the planning?

I ask two questions: What is the most important thing that needs to happen and what is the one thing that absolutely cannot happen? That sets the tone. It could be something as simple as people must have a good time or that the mission needs to be understood or the brand needs to come across.

Is it hard for you to go to events you didn’t plan? Can you step back and not stress over details you had no control over?

People ask me that all the time. I love it. When I go to weddings, my friends tell me not to judge the cake or centerpieces. But I’m just excited to be a guest.

How has the whole planning industry changed?

I’ve been out of college for almost 20 years, and it’s been huge. At the time, event planning mostly involved working at a hotel and booking events. Now it’s on steroids. You can do corporate, social, weddings, bar mitzvahs, rentals or just styling. Then there’s someone like me. I want to orchestrate the entire experience.

I’m going to let vendors be creative geniuses, but I want to orchestrate how it all flows, mixes together and then step back and say, ‘Look what we just did.’ That’s what I love to do.

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FOOD

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

To mitigate the impact of higher food prices, Executive Caterers talks to the client. “We will honor (the quoted price), but that doesn’t mean you can’t work with them to help address an unusual issue” by discussing changes in a menu, Klass said.

A Taste of Excellence Caterers, based in Strongsville, averages 40 to 50 events a month. With more than 80 years of experience executing thousands weddings, as well as corporate events for clients including Sherwin-Williams, KeyBank, the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, the company has “felt the effects” of rising food and beverage prices, said vice president Chris Winter. They have not, however, noticed a slowing down of planned events as a result of the increases. Winter estimates food and beverage costs represent 30% to 40% of an event’s expenses.

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CLEVELAND BUSINESS

VOL. 36, NO. 47

NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 29, 2015 Allyson O’Keefe started her legal career at Porter Wright in 2004 after completing a summer internship there as a Case Western Reserve University law student. Since then, she has worked on many significant deals across Cleveland, including Flats East Bank, The Metropolitan at the 9, Uptown in University Circle and Steelyard Commons, and has been promoted to real estateALLYSON partner.

O’KEEFE, 37 “Young professionals who live downtown are so excited about the city,” said O’Keefe, a Partner; Porter Columbus native who lived downtown forWright 10 years before moving to Rocky River. “The ones who aren’t from here are often more excited about it. When you move here from somewhere else, you don’t for granted.”

VOL. 36, NO. take 47 it Allyson NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 29, 2015 O’Keefe started her legal career at Porter Wright in 2004 after completing a sumWhen O’Keefe is not working or spending time with her husband and two children, she can mer internship there as a Case Western Reserve University law student. Since then, she has be found volunteering on the boards of nonprofit organizations and watching college football. worked on many significant deals across Cleveland, including Flats East Bank, The Metropolitan at the 9, Uptown in University Circle and Steelyard Commons, and has been proWHAT INSPIRES YOU ABOUT YOUR WORK? moted to real estateALLYSON partner.

O’KEEFE, Just seeing what Cleveland has gone through in the time that I’ve 37 been here, there’s obvious“Young professionals who live downtown are so excited about the city,” said O’Keefe, a ly a lot of excitement around real estatePartner; development.

I started in 2004 when we were crazy Porter Columbus native who lived downtown for Wright 10 years before moving to Rocky River. “The ones busy with development. That was sort of the boom from ’04 through ’08. I saw it go through who aren’t from here are often more excited about it. When you move here from somewhere the downturn, then I saw it rise again, even stronger than before locally. else, you don’t take it for granted.”

Allyson O’Keefe started her legal career at Porter Wright in 2004 after completing a sumWhen O’Keefe is not working or spending time with her husband and two children, she can mer internship as a Case Western Reserve University law student. Since then, she has MANY OF THE PROJECTS YOU WORKED ON there ARE MIXED-USE URBAN PROJECTS. IS be found volunteering on the boards of nonprofit organizations and watching college football. worked on many significant deals across Cleveland, including Flats East Bank, The THAT AN AREA OF EXPERTISE? Metropolitan at the 9, Uptown in every University and Steelyard Commons, and has been proYes, definitely. Real estate is extremely interesting because deal Circle is differWHAT INSPIRES YOU ABOUT YOUR WORK? moted to real estate ent. You can never get bored because there’s so partner. much variety there, from tax Just seeing what Cleveland has gone through in the time that I’ve been here, there’s obvious“Young who live downtown so excited about the city,” said O’Keefe, a credits to historic renovations, from professionals ground-up development to rehab, are from ly a lot of excitement around real estate development. I started in 2004 when we were crazy mixed-use to residential. Columbus native who lived downtown for 10 years before moving to Rocky River. “The ones busy with development. That was sort of the boom from ’04 through ’08. I saw it go through who aren’t from here are often more excited about it. When you move here from somewhere the downturn, then I saw it rise again, even stronger than before locally. else, you LEADERSHIP don’t take it for granted.”

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O’KeefeI expect is not working or spending timeI work, with her husband and two children, she can I definitely believe in leadingWhen by example. the people with whom MANY OF THE PROJECTS YOU WORKED ON ARE MIXED-USE URBAN PROJECTS. IS be found volunteering on the very boards of nonprofit and watching college football. my associates, to work hard, and they see me working hard.

For me, it’sorganizations all THAT AN AREA OF EXPERTISE? about working hard and doing good work.

Yes, definitely. Real estate is extremely interesting because every deal is differWHAT INSPIRES YOU ABOUT YOUR WORK? ent. You can never get bored because there’s so much variety there, from tax Just WHAT seeingWAS whatITCleveland has gone the time that I’ve been here, there’s obviousWHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: LIKE TO WORK WITHthrough O’KEEFEinON credits to historic renovations, from ground-up development to rehab, from ly a lot of excitement around real estate development. I started in 2004 when we were crazy THE FLATS EAST BANK PROJECT? mixed-use to residential. busy with development. sort of the boom from ’04 through ’08. I saw it go through “Allyson is extremely bright and quick witted, butThat whatwas truly distinguishes her the downturn, then I saw itpeople rise again, even from most successful attorneys is her exceptional skills.

Shestronger has an than before locally.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE? uncanny ability to encourage the ‘adversaries’ in her negotiations to work in I definitely believe in leading by example. I expect the people with whom I work, OF THE PROJECTS YOU WORKED concert with her to achieve win/winMANY solutions to difficult problems,” said ON ARE MIXED-USE UR my associates, to work hard, and they see me working very hard. For me, it’s all EXPERTISE?of the THAT AN AREA Scott Wolstein, CEO of Starwood Retail Partners andOF co-developer about working hard and doing good work.

Yes, definitely. Real estate is extremely interesting because every deal is differFlats East Bank project. ent. You can never get bored because there’s so much variety there, from tax — Lee Chilcote WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WORK WITH O’KEEFE ON credits to historic renovations, from ground-up development to rehab, from THE FLATS EAST BANK PROJECT? mixed-use to residential.

“Allyson is extremely bright and quick witted, but what truly distinguishes her successfulInc. attorneys is reserved. her exceptional people skills. She has an Reprinted with permission from the Crain's Cleveland Business. © 2015from Crainmost Communications All Rights HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE? ability to encourage the ‘adversaries’ in her negotiations to work in Further duplication without permission is prohibited. Visituncanny www.crainscleveland.com. #CC15040

I definitely believe in leading by example. I expect the people with whom I work, concert with her to achieve win/win solutions to difficult problems,” said my associates, to work hard, and they see me working very hard. For me, it’s all Scott Wolstein, CEO of Starwood Retail Partners and co-developer of the about working hard and doing good work.

Flats East Bank project.

— Lee Chilcote WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WORK W THE FLATS EAST BANK PROJECT? “Allyson is extremely bright and quick witted, but what truly distinguishes her successfulInc. attorneys her exceptional people skills. She has an Reprinted with permission from the Crain's Cleveland Business. © 2015from Crainmost Communications All Rightsisreserved. ability to encourage the ‘adversaries’ in her negotiations to work in Further duplication without permission is prohibited. Visituncanny www.crainscleveland.com. #CC15040 concert with her to achieve win/win solutions to difficult problems,” said Scott Wolstein, CEO of Starwood Retail Partners and co-developer of the Flats East Bank project.

Reprinted with permission from the Crain's Cleveland Business. © 2015 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights reserved.

Further duplication without permission is prohibited. Visit www.crainscleveland.com. ww crainscleveland.com. #CC15040 www.

One of the keys to sustaining business is to inform clients of trends in the market, said Winter. By providing pertinent information, including such facts as skyrocketing prices of increasingly rare halibut (“It’s been over-fished,” Winter adds), the client realizes up front that bargains of yesteryear may not be today’s reality.

Changes in entree selections can mitigate increased costs, he said. For example, if a client wanted three entree choices for guests such as beef, chicken and fish, he or she might scale back.

“Or, they might decide to offer short ribs instead of a filet,” Winter said. The presentation and dish itself — such as offering a specially cooked chicken thigh atop roasted asparagus — offers a different type of value, he said.

Local food co-ops, including those found in Ohio City, have enabled a less expensive “farm to table” opportunity, which “used to be a really pricey option,” Winter said. “Prices have gone down, which is how it should be considering decreased distribution costs.”

The North Olmsted-based event planning business A Charming Fête, founded in 2010, is on track to handle about 70 events this year, an increase by about 10 events from last year.

Co-founder Somer Khouri-Bedran

A

R O O M

helps oversees a team of nine planners. She does see an impact from even a relatively on-track increase in food and beverage costs as tracked by the USDA, but the overall effect, she said, has been minimal.

Most of the events A Charming Fête handles have budgets of $40,000 and above. Historically, 40% of the budget want to food and beverages.

“That number is now up to 50% to 55%” because of the slow rise in food costs, she said.

“There has been an increase in prices overall, but that has to do with different factors,” Khouri-Bedran said. The cost of events can be impacted by the time of year — winter food prices can be higher — as well as popular venues being booked.

However, “we book out so far in advance that the venues are locked in to a number,” she said. “(Food and beverage prices) are a little bit higher than normal, but not tremendous.”

Khouri-Bedran added that special food requests, whether it be gluten-free food or vegan menus, will cause food prices per person to go up substantially, sometimes as high as 100%, for events. But those requests, according to planners and caterers, are personal decisions by the hosts and are not part of any overall price-increase trend.

Crops, taxes, weather — all of these come into play concerning food and beverage prices, said Richard Klein, professor of business and urban studies at Cleveland State University. He said the increases, however, “may not have an adverse effect” on consumers or corporations willingness to plan events. “The public can absorb 3% to 4% a year,” he adds.

But there’s an important caveat to the absorption rate: If a company or restaurant raise the price of food above 3% to 4%, consumers may hesitate and not be as ambitious with a gala or speaker series, Klein said, who recently published a book with the Cleveland Memory Project on the evolution of fast-food restaurants in Northeast Ohio.

“There’s a threshold of pain,” Klein said. “If a chicken dinner goes from $5 to $5.10, than consumers will be willing to make up the difference. But if we are talking about the same dinner, the same portions and the price suddenly doubles, then a consumer will suddenly be asking themselves ‘Is it worth that?’”

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

ARENA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

That turnout, it appeared, pushed council to delve deeper, triggering some on council to a latent urge to micromanage.

The makeover of the 22-year-old arena is being financed jointly by the Cavs, the city of Cleveland and the county. The deal includes a lease extension that would ensure the Cavaliers will remain at the arena through 2034, a seven-year extension of the existing lease.

Interest on two, $70 million bond issues would bring the cost over 17 years to $282 million. The Cavaliers would pay $122 million of that in increased rent, while the city and county would cover the remaning $160 million.

The rehab will put the existing masonry façade on the north side of the building behind a glass curtain wall that will expand the concourses and create areas for pre- and post-game events.

Cleveland City Council president Kevin Kelley said companion legislation will be introduced to his council on March 20, with hearings to follow over the next several weeks.

The deal is complicated. The arena is publicly owned, by the city and county through the Gateway Economic Development Corp. That’s the quasi-public agency created by Cleveland and the three-member Cuyahoga County Commission, which ran the county until the executive-council form of government replaced it in 2011.

The financing plan avoids any tax increases. The county would issue bonds that would be repaid by available funds from existing local admissions and hotel taxes, and from increased rent payments from the Cavs.

The city is involved because part of the financing for the renovation will

A dramatic makeover of Quicken Loans Arena would cost $282 million, including interest. (Contributed rendering)

come from a city admissions tax.

The deal piqued the interest of the Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC), which describes itself as a coalition of faith communities and other organizations working together to build power for social justice.

GCC questions how money was found for a Quicken Loans Arena makeover while social and safety services are stretched thin. When county council began discussions, GCC filled the council chambers and its members made a proposal. Dozens of people said in brief, three-minute public comments that they’re all for the Cavs, but they want more.

The GCC speakers argued that if there is enough money for arena remodeling, there should also be enough money for better health, mental health and addiction services, and the physical redevelopment in Cleve-

land neighborhoods and the suburbs.

County council president Dan Brady in a telephone interview said council was not intimidated by the presence of the 100 to 200 demonstrators who have been coming to the meetings. But then he interjected, “maybe just by the very (high) noise level at the beginning.”

But the reaction of council members suggests otherwise.

At the end of the March 14 meeting, before the vote was taken to move the legislation forward, many council members made formal, prepared statements of their positions, something Brady didn’t expect until the final meeting on March 28.

“Quite spontaneously people just decided to go ahead and do it,” he said.

Intimidated or not, several on council asked questions that suggest-

ed it was micromanging, a charge the part-time council has faced in the past.

In 2014, it was criticized when it considered a charter revision that would bar the county executive from firing the sheriff without council approval. Earlier, it was forced to shelve a plan for spending $500,000 a year to hire full-time assistants for each of the 11 part-time county council members.

The Cavaliers organization has asked for the legislation to move quickly. The team’s back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals have resulted in seasons ending in mid-June.

That quick passage was an issue for council members Baker and Schron.

They were concerned about committing tax revenue to the arena renovation before the county could assess the impact the state budget making its

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PA G E 19

way through the General Assembly will have on the county’s financial condition. The state budget is not likely to be passed until June 30.

The timing is important to the Cavaliers, who operate The Q and will be managing construction. Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski told council that delaying county approval until after June 30 would mean the Cavaliers would miss the summer construction season, likely pushing back completion. Komoroski also said that a delay could mean the cost of the debt that will finance the deal would increase, since interest rates are rising.

Schron, who runs a family tooling business, argued that if the county could build a 32-story hotel on the Mall in under two years, certainly the Cavaliers could speed up its construction schedule. Komoroski countered that building a standard design hotel on a cleared set was very different from doing a custom renovation of a sports arena while the building remains in use.

Similarly, Baker, a former state legislator, asked if the cost couldn’t be shaved by having the Cavaliers pay the interest on one of the county-issued $70 million bond issues while the county would repay principle — unheard of in public finance.

Asked about that line of questioning, Brady conceded that, despite the months of negotiations between the Budish administration and the Cavaliers, some on council, “really wanted to negotiate themselves.”

While not commenting on this specific legislation, Lisa Thomas, director of the Center for Leadership Development at Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, said in an email, “It is very difficult for non-financial experts to understand the intricacies of public finance deals. It involves a lot of trust in the people who negotiate the deals.”

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

AKRON The Dish: Beth Thomas Hertz

New steakhouse is taking shape at Rusty Nail site The former home of popular Kent-area restaurant the Rusty Nail, which has sat vacant since 2014, is set to open as the Black Iron Grille in early April following a major renovation.

The restaurant, on state Route 43 in Franklin Township, will be operated by Jonathan Biscardi, head chef, and his wife, Hannah, who will manage the front house. Both have worked in area restaurants and catering for about 16 years.

Jonathan’s mother, Patricia Martin, a Kent resident who has fond memories of dining at the Rusty Nail, bought the foreclosed property for $352,500 in January 2016 and has invested more than $250,000 in renovations, she said.

The family had hoped to open the restaurant by October, but the renovations have taken longer than expected and cost nearly triple what the family originally had planned.

Those renovations include converting the area where a 4,000-squarefoot banquet hall formerly stood into an outdoor dining area with a fireplace and water feature. The roof over that section collapsed when the building was vacant and the bank demolished the structure. The concrete slab remains, however, and is the basis for a new patio area. An adjacent patio will cover about 1,000 square feet. About half of the outdoor space will be covered by a new pavilion.

Inside, the restaurant spans 3,400 square feet, Jonathan Biscardi said, adding the combined indoor-outdoor seating capacity will be about 290 people.

The renovations include a complete replumb, new gas and electrical service, raising the roof to accommodate new exhaust and fire suppression systems, and moving the kitchen to another part of the building.

Every surface in the building has

Jonathan Biscardi, who has about 16 years’ experience in food service, is the head chef at the new Black Iron Grille.

As part of the renovation of the former Rusty Nail restaurant in Franklin Township, operators Jonathan Biscardi and his wife, Hannah, are adding a large outdoor pavilion. (Shane Wynn for Crain’s)

been redone, Biscardi said.

“It is finally getting to be what we want it to be,” he said.

The restaurant will employ just under 20 people at first, with at least 13 of those jobs being full-time, Biscardi said. He plans to start hiring within a month and hopes to expand the staff to 40 over time.

“We plan to pay a little over market to attract good people,” he said. “We have installed brand new air conditioning in the kitchen, so it will be mostly temperature-controlled, and we put windows in there as well. My wife and I know what the employees go through, and we want to make it a place where they want to work.”

He described the new restaurant as a traditional steakhouse with a modern twist. He described it as fan-

The Black Iron Grille, at a glance Where: 7291 state Route 43, Franklin Township When: Opening slated for early April. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday.

The vibe: A casual-yet-elegant traditional steakhouse, with a large, covered outdoor area with fireplace and water feature.

Specialties: Classic steakhouse fare (beef, chicken) with a modern, elegant twist. Will also feature hot desserts, such as crème brulee.

cier plating of classic dishes, including serving some side dishes in iron skillets, so that while the dish will still be a familiar classic (steak or chicken marsala, for example), it will feel fresh and new.

Also they will serve hot desserts, which he said is not common in restaurants today. Examples include freshly made French toast topped

with ice cream or crème brulee.

Plus, Biscardi plans to make a play on the restaurant’s initials — B.I.G. — and offer hearty portions at a reasonable price, he said.

“Owning the building outright with no loan should help us be little bit more competitive with lower overhead,” he said.

Most items on the dining room’s

dinner menu will range in cost from $13 to $25. A menu for the bar/patio and lunch will include items that range from $7 to $12, he said.

Martin said the restaurant is designed to appeal to people seeking anything from casual to elegance in their dining.

“It is for anyone looking for a good meal,” she said.

She said she has always been interested in seeing the location brought back to life and believes her son is the right person to head that up.

“He has a degree in finance and helped several restaurants turn business around, and I thought he should have the opportunity to do that for himself,” Martin said.

She thinks the past popularity of the location will help draw patrons to the new restaurant.

“It was very beloved by the community, and people were sad to see it go out of business. We have a lot to live up to, and we hope to do that and then some,” Martin said.

Boosting R&D is key to Alttran’s growth plan

By MIKE McNULTY Rubber & Plastics News

Alttran Inc. made big strides in its goal to increase the firm’s mixing capabilities in 2016 when it invested about $250,000 in new laboratory equipment and equipment upgrades.

But that was just the initial phase of a multiyear plan that will enhance the capabilities of its research and development laboratory, according to Dave Topliff, president of the Hudson-based specialty elastomer compounder and development company.

Alttran, which was formed by Topliff and his wife, Debbie Topliff, in 2005, mixes a wide range of polymers and focuses on applications that require high-performance rubber.

“We have separate lines for mixing black and color compounds,” Dave Topliff said.

“This allows us to make very consistent, clean color compounds. We also provide technical support to develop new compounds, investigate new applications and solve problems with existing customer formulations.”

“The vision for Alttran has remained the same as we have moved from startup mode to a more mature company: Provide strong technical support to our customers and conduct business with a more personalized approach.”

— Dave Topliff, Alttran president

Strong support He said that the company has grown steadily over the past 11 years and continues to seek new customers and opportunities.

“The vision for Alttran has remained the same as we have moved from startup mode to a more mature company: Provide strong technical support to our customers and conduct business with a more personalized approach,” Topliff said.

Alttran wanted to increase its R&D capabilities because, in addition to its internal need for compound development, it has a business unit that provides contract testing to the rubber industry, he said.

As the company worked with new

clients on lab testing, he said “they expressed a need to capture more data from the mixing equipment.

Customers were also looking to solve processing issues in molding and extrusion.

“By adding specific lab equipment, we can develop better models to predict compound behavior in extrusion, transfer molding and injection molding processes,” Topliff said.

Alttran installed a dynamic rubber analyzer in its lab in early 2016.

“The (machine) is an amazing tool,” according to Carlee McCowin, an application development engineer at the firm. “We have been able to model different molding processes and identify how compound changes impact scorch times and mold flow.

The post-cure dynamic testing opens up a new area for us to study.”

Its laboratory is located within the privately held company’s plant in Hudson in order to support both the mixing and contract testing business units.

Alttran also purchased a lab scale extruder with a digital data acquisition system to make compound development more efficient. The extruder has reduced the time needed to optimize extrusion compounds and provides quick feedback, the firm said.

Another upgrade was the installation of data acquisition systems on the company’s lab mixers, using touch screen panels to control and display the mixing process.

Alttran said key data is displayed on the screen and is continuously captured on a dedicated computer. It said the increased level of detail has improved the success rate as compounds scale up from the lab to the factory.

Primary objectives “There are two main objectives that drive our investment in the lab,” Topliff said. “We want to decrease the time it takes to develop a new com-

pound or optimize an existing compound. The faster we can move projects to a successful conclusion, the faster a customer gets the answers they need to grow their business.

“Secondly, we believe that increasing our technical knowledge of rubber processing will improve the performance of our compounds.”

He said the company has grown at an average rate of more than 20% per year during the past decade. The comany has done that, he said, by adding equipment regularly to keep up with demand for the firm’s mixing services and to meet specific customer requirements.

“Alttran will continue to invest in equipment and staff to support our compounding and lab testing businesses,” Topliff said.

“The technical needs of our customers help us focus on the type of equipment and test capabilities that are needed.

“Rubber is exposed to a wide range of environments that impact product service life. Being able to predict how a compound will perform in high heat or extreme cold is one area of expertise that our customers require.

We also expose rubber to a variety of fluids to study their impact on product performance.”

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AKRON

TURNOVER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

By the time it was done, the University of Akron lost its new president, Scott Scarborough, who was at odds with faculty and students; FirstMerit Corp.’s CEO Paul Greig lost his post when Huntington Bank acquired FirstMerit; Dr. Thomas Malone resigned as head of Summa Health System after backlash about physician contract renewals; and Dr. Thomas “Tim” Stover left Akron General Health System after it was acquired by Cleveland Clinic.

Then, perhaps most shockingly, Summit County executive Russ Pry died unexpectedly at the end of July 2016 — a loss that many say cost the community one of its best loved and most effective leaders.

Perhaps Jim Mullen, who left United Way of Metropolitan Nashville in 2015 to return to his native Northeast Ohio to replace Kulinski, sums it up the best: “When I accepted the job, Plusquellic was the mayor, Scott Scarborough was relatively new in his role, Tom Malone was new in his role at Summa, the Cleveland Clinic thing (with Akron General) looked like it was going be a partnership, rather than a takeover — and the Huntington-FirstMerit deal wasn’t even on anyone’s radar.

All of that’s changed. The last two years have brought a great deal of change to Akron and Summit County. ... The scale of the change we’ve seen might not be unprecedented, but it’s certainly far from what anyone would think is normal.”

Don Plusquellic, seen here near Akron Children’s Hospital in 2010, was the longest-serving mayor in Akron history. He stepped down in 2015 after more than 28 years in office. (Crain’s file photograph)

The new wave So where does that leave Akron?

Leaderless? Far from it — in fact, most of the folks involved in or working with the city’s leadership say they view the change as an opportunity.

“I don’t think it’s an enormous topsy-turvy change all at once, but I hear that from people in the community, especially some of the longer-serving members of the community. They feel like everything is changing all at once,” said Christine Mayer, president of Akron’s GAR Foundation. “But you hear a very different narrative from some of the emerging leaders. They see it as a time of great promise. And you won’t hear me say the sky is falling.”

Many point to Akron mayor Dan Horrigan as both an agent and an ex-

Dan Horrigan was elected as Akron’s mayor in November 2015. He’s shown near a worksite for the Akron Waterways Renewed Project, a $1.6 billion sewer overhaul. (Dan Shingler)

ample of the change that is enveloping the city. True, Horrigan has a long history working in city government, but he brings a fresh approach, observers say.

He’s also an example of how leaders affect the community by the people they bring up with them, said Kyle Kutuchief, Knight Foundation Akron program director.

In each of these instances of change, not only does the CEO change, but the leadership team changes, too, Kutuchief said.

“The CEO piece is important, but

there’s also that whole new team that moves in and out,” he said.

An example is Horrigan’s hiring of Jason Segedy as Akron’s director of planning and urban development.

Segedy is eager to listen to neighborhood residents and is a champion of bike paths, walkable streetscapes and other things that will improve urban life in Akron.

Others credit Matthew Wilson, Scarborough’s replacement at the University of Akron, with changing attitudes at his organization.

“He’s a great example of someone

who is different with his approach.

He’s putting the students first and trying to drive changes through discussions with students about what they need,” Mullen said.

And Mullen himself represents a new generation of leaders. At 36, he’s one of the youngest heads of a major United Way branch in the country.

Ilene Shapiro, Pry’s longtime colleague when she served on Summit County Council and the woman who was elected to replace him last fall, also gets high marks, especially for efforts to make county and civic leadership more diverse.

“Ilene Shapiro has definitely made that a priority in her first term,” Leadership Akron’s Scheffler said.

Additional emerging leaders are making their mark, too, such as Summit Metro Parks executive director Lisa King, Kutuchief and ArtsNow executive director Nicole Mullet — all of whom are relatively new in their roles but are having a large and positive impact, other leaders say.

More in the pipeline What might be even more important than the new leaders Akron has today are the leaders it will need and

have ready in the future. On that front, those engaged in finding and grooming leaders say they are more than heartened by the level of engagement they see from the city’s young people and with the willingness of new leaders to embrace them and their ideas.

Still, there are significant challenges to overcome, including increasing the diversity of the city’s leadership.

More than one-third of the city’s residents are minorities and more than 30% of them are African-Americans, yet all the city’s new top leaders are white and only one, Shapiro, is female.

That needs to change, says Eric Fletcher, president and co-founder of Akron’s Young Black Professional Coalition.

“Akron is a diverse city, so you need to have a diverse representation in your leadership roles,” he said.

“We’re trying to get away from the old boy’s club model.”

While he says there is still much progress to be made, Fletcher is heartened by some of the city’s new leaders and their efforts toward diversity.

“I think they’re making headway,” he said, citing things such as the “Diversity on Board” training program, organized by United Way and Leadership Akron, that seeks to prepare minority candidates for board positions at area organizations.

And many credit some of Akron’s old guard with leaving the city in good shape in terms of leadership.

While previous or older leaders might not have seemed as open to new ideas as today’s crop, they recognized the need for future leaders when they set up programs like Leadership Akron and the Torchbearers group, which works with emerging leaders and area nonprofits.

It all leaves most observers more optimistic than pessimistic when it comes to Akron’s future leadership.

“I do not see a leadership vacuum in Akron,” said Chris Thompson, a former consultant with the Fund for Our Economic Future who continues to work with area leaders through his firm Civic Collaboration Consultants.

“I see a lot of new leaders working well together to explore important issues that maybe they didn’t feel comfortable exploring before because someone else was ‘in charge.’ ”

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(1)

(1)

Ranked by Number of Enplaned Enplaned Passengers Passengers ENPLANED PASSENGERS THIS AIRLINE THIS AIRLINE YEAR WEB SITE YEAR WEB SITE

2016 2015

PERCENT CHANGE

(1) (1)

Ranked by Number of Enplaned Passengers

ENPLANED FREIGHT (LBS.) 2016 2015

PERCENT CHANGE

ENPLANED PASSENGERS ENPLANED FREIGHT (LBS.) ENPLANED FREIGHT (LBS.) ENPLANED FREIGHT (LBS.)

ENPLANEDPASSENGERS PASSENGERS ENPLANED THIS 2016AIRLINE 2016 YEAR 2015WEB SITE 2015

PERCENTCHANGE CHANGE PERCENT

2009 2016 2016 2008 2015 2015

PERCENT CHANGE

2009 PERCENT 2008PERCENT CHANGE PERCENT CHANGE CHANGE

United 1 1 United www.united.com www.united.com

737,074 633,013

16.4%

1,723,368 1,285,647

34.0%737,074 737,074 633,013 633,013

1

Continental 16.4% 16.4% www.continental.com

1,540,618 1,723,368 1,723,368 1,760,602 1,285,647 1,285,647

-12.5%

4,809,484 34.0% 34.0% 6,150,485

-21.8%

AirlinesAirlines Southwest 2 2 Southwest www.southwest.com www.southwest.com

634,206 554,712

14.3%

688,667 764,061

-9.9%634,206 634,206 554,712 554,712

2

Continental Express 14.3% 14.3% www.continental.com

871,493 688,667 688,667 1,046,544 764,061 764,061

-16.7%

243,151 -9.9% -9.9% 306,701

-20.7%

AirlinesAirlines Frontier 3 3 Frontier www.flyfrontier.com www.flyfrontier.com

489,953 497,839

-1.6%

0 0

NA

489,953 489,953 497,839 497,839

3

Southwest Airlines -1.6% -1.6% www.southwest.com

511,950 00 563,281 00

-9.1%

656,450 NA NA 852,677

-23.0%

Airlines Spirit Airlines 4 4 Spirit www.spirit.com www.spirit.com

378,296 303,162

24.8%

0 0

NA

378,296 378,296 303,162 303,162

4

Chautauqua (for Continental) (5) 24.8% 24.8% www.flychautauqua.com

505,674 00 587,090 00

-13.9%

1,156 NA NA 768

50.5%

(mainline) Delta (mainline) 5 5 Delta www.delta.com www.delta.com

346,056 281,438

23.0%

107,173 147,866

-27.5% 346,056 346,056 281,438 281,438

5

Continental Connection 23.0% 23.0% www.continental.com

229,764 107,173 107,173 303,527 147,866 147,866

-24.3%

0 -27.5% -27.5% 0

NA

273,957 Jet (forJet United) Express (for United) 6 6 Express www.united.com; www.expressjet.com www.united.com; www.expressjet.com 319,374 www.expressjet.com

-14.2%

0 0

NA

273,957 273,957 319,374 319,374

6

American Eagle -14.2% -14.2% www.aa.com

208,576 00 187,911 00

11.0%

13,954 NA NA 15,431

-9.6%

AirlinesAirlines (mainline) (2) American (mainline) (2) 7 7 American www.aa.com www.aa.com

272,009 140,957

93.0%

114,948 61,282

87.6%272,009 272,009 140,957 140,957

7

Republic (for 93.0% US Airways) 93.0% www.rjet.com

117,064 114,948 114,948 97,871 61,282 61,282

19.6%

3,926 87.6% 87.6% 2,492

57.5%

Jet (forJet Delta) Express (for Delta) 8 8 Express www.delta.com; www.expressjet.com www.delta.com; www.expressjet.com www.expressjet.com

145,516 128,885

12.9%

0 0

NA

145,516 145,516 128,885 128,885

8

United Airlines 12.9% 12.9% www.united.com

107,092 00 152,480 00

-29.8%

199,801 NA NA 239,318

-16.5%

JetBlue 9 9 JetBlue www.jetblue.com www.jetblue.com

124,899 71,739

74.1%

0 0

NA

124,899 124,899 71,739 71,739

9

Atlantic Southeast 74.1%(for Delta) (6) 74.1% www.flyasa.com

104,937 00 82,415 00

27.3%

21,235 NA NA 15,787

34.5%

Air (owned

by American) Envoy Air (owned

by American) 1010Envoy www.aa.com; www.envoyair.com www.aa.com; www.envoyair.com

124,819 95,229

31.1%

14,090 7,733

82.2%124,819 124,819 95,229 95,229

10

Pinnacle (for 31.1% Northwest Airlink) (3) 31.1% www.delta.com

91,168 14,090 14,090 89,040 7,733 7,733

2.4%

13,705 82.2% 82.2% 49,773

-72.5%

(for United) Mesa (for United) 1111Mesa www.united.com; www.mesa-air.com www.united.com; www.mesa-air.com

96,213 84,563

13.8%

0 0

NA

96,213 96,213 84,563 84,563

11

Mesaba (for Northwest Airlink) (3) 13.8% 13.8% www.mesaba.com

67,308 00 44,519 00

51.2%

4,234 NA NA 13,103

-67.7%

83,364 (owned(owned

by Delta) Endeavor by(3) Delta) (3) 1212Endeavor www.delta.com; www.endeavorair.com www.delta.com; www.endeavorair.com 82,826 www.endeavorair.com

0.6%

0 0

NA

83,364 83,364 82,826 82,826

12

SkyWest (for0.6% United) 0.6% www.united.com; www.skywest.com

59,248 00 41,228 00

43.7%

0 NA NA 0

NA

Airlines (owned(owned

by American) (4) PSA Airlines (4)76,338

by American) (4) 1313PSA 66,047 www.aa.com; www.psaairlines.com www.aa.com; www.psaairlines.com

15.6%

15,388 10,548

45.9%76,338 76,338 66,047 66,047

13

USA 3000 (7)15.6% 15.6% www.usa3000.com

54,183 15,388 15,388 81,273 10,548 10,548

-33.3%

0 45.9% 45.9% 0

NA

(for American) Republic (for American) 1414Republic www.aa.com; www.rjet.com www.aa.com; www.rjet.com

73,873 57,250

29.0%

8,657 4,960

74.5%73,873 73,873 57,250 57,250

14

Mesa (for US Airways) 29.0% 29.0% www.mesa-air.com

47,286 8,657 8,657 25,087 4,960 4,960

88.5%

853 74.5% 74.5% 1,767

-51.7%

Wisconsin (for American) Air Wisconsin (for American) 1515Air www.aa.com; www.airwis.com www.aa.com; www.airwis.com

52,448 20,068

161.4%

79,044 26,913

193.7% 52,448 52,448 20,068 20,068

15

Mesa (for United) 161.4% 161.4% www.united.com; www.mesa-air.com

45,817 79,044 79,044 59,961 26,913 26,913

-23.6%

0 193.7% 193.7% 0

NA

(for United) Republic (for United) 1616Republic www.united.com; www.rjet.com www.united.com; www.rjet.com

44,306 246

17,910.6%

0 0

NA

44,306 44,306 246 246

16

US Airways (2) 17,910.6% 17,910.6% www.usairways.com

40,169 00 90,919 00

-55.8%

11,779 NA NA 66,710

-82.3%

(for United) SkyWest (for United) 1717SkyWest www.united.com; www.skywest.com www.united.com; www.skywest.com

37,817 24,499

54.4%

0 0

NA

37,817 37,817 24,499 24,499

17

Comair (for Delta Connection) (8) 54.4% 54.4% www.delta.com

31,946 00 52,283 00

-38.9%

0 NA NA 1,372

-100.0%

America (for United) (5) Shuttle America (for United) (5) 1818Shuttle www.united.com; www.rjet.com www.united.com; www.rjet.com

35,035 42,447

-17.5%

0 0

NA

35,035 35,035 42,447 42,447

18

Air Wisconsin-17.5% -17.5% www.airwis.com

27,283 00 38,674 00

-29.5%

320 NA NA 1,778

-82.0%

States (for American) Trans States (for American) 1919Trans www.aa.com; www.transstates.net www.aa.com; www.transstates.net

29,422 16,186

81.8%

9,720 1,725

463.5% 29,422 29,422 16,186 16,186

19

Express Jet (for United) 81.8% 81.8% www.united.com; www.expressjet.com

26,051 9,720 9,720 0 1,725 1,725

NA

0 463.5% 463.5% 0

NA

NA

0 0

NA

20

Freedom (for NA Delta) (9) NA www.mesa-air.com

19,347 00 1,602 00

1,107.7%

0 NA NA 0

NA

22,043 Georgian (for Air (for Canada) Air Georgian Air Canada) 2020Air 0 www.aircanada.com; www.airgeorgian.ca www.aircanada.com; www.airgeorgian.ca www.airgeorgian.ca

22,043 22,043 00

RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER AND DEB HILLYER RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER AND DEB HILLYER appears on on the the left. left. On Onthe theright, right,we've we'veincluded includedaasimilar similarlist listwe wepublished publishedinin2010 2010to togive givereaders readersaasense senseofofhow howlocal localairline airlineservice service has changed over time.

Since 2008, many has changed over time.

Since 2008, many ource ource leveland Airport ystem. (1) The new list appears airlines United and and Continental Continental merged mergedin in2010; 2010;four fouryears yearslater, later,United Unitedstopped stoppedusing usingCleveland ClevelandHopkins Hopkinsas asone oneofofits itsmajor major"hub" "hub"airports airports and began cutting flights.

Since then, however, airlines have have merged or closed down. Notably, United and began cutting flights.

Since then, however, other (2) American American Airlines Airlines merged mergedwith withUS USAirways Airwaysin in2015.

2015.(3) (3)Pinnacle PinnacleAirlines Airlinesbought boughtMesaba Mesabainin2010, 2010,and andDelta Deltabought boughtPinnacle Pinnacleinin2013.

2013.

Pinnacle then changed name Endeavor. other airlines airlines have added flights at the airport. (2) Pinnacle then changed itsits name toto Endeavor.

(4) Airlines merged merged its its Chautauqua ChautauquaAirlines Airlinesand andShuttle ShuttleAmerica Americasubsidiaries subsidiariesinin2015.

2015.Shuttle Shuttlewas wasmerged mergedinto intoRepublic RepublicAirlines AirlinesininFebruary February 2017.

(6) Atlantic Southeast changed name (4) Formerly Formerly part of US Airways. (5) Republic Airlines 2017.

(6) Atlantic Southeast changed itsits name to 2011. (7) (7) USA USA 3000 3000 closed closeddown downin in2012.

2012.(8) (8)Delta Deltaclosed closedits itsComair Comairsubsidiary subsidiaryinin2012.

2012.(9) (9)Mesa MesaAirlines Airlinesclosed closedits itsFreedom Freedomsubsidiary subsidiary 2010. to ExpressJet ExpressJet after the two airlines merged in 2011. inin 2010.

THE LIST

THE LIST

Largest Airlines Serving AkronLargest Airlines Serving AkronCanton (Now andServing Then) Akron-Canton Canton and Then) Largest Airlines (Now(Now and Then) Largest Airlines THELIST LIST THE

(1)

Rankedby bynumber numberof ofEnplaned Enplaned Passengers Passengers Ranked

Ranked by number of Enplaned Passengers

ENPLANED PASSENGERS THIS AIRLINE AIRLINE THIS AIRLINE YEAR WEB SITE WEBSITE SITE YEAR WEB

111

2016 2015

211,613 Delta; Delta; Delta Delta;Connection DGS(dba (dbaDelta DeltaConnection) Connection) DGS 201,211 www.delta.com www.delta.com www.delta.com

PERCENT CHANGE

(1)

(1) (1)

ENPLANED PASSENGERS

ENPLANED PASSENGERS ENPLANED THISPERCENT AIRLINE YEAR WEB SITE CHANGE

2016 2016 MOST FREQUENT DESTINATIONS 2015 2015

2009 PERCENT 2008 CHANGE MOST MOST FREQUENT FREQUENT DESTINATIONS DESTINATIONS

MOST FREQUENT DESTINATIONS

1

AirTran Airways Atlanta, Atlanta, Detroit Detroit 337,605 335,372 www.airtran.com

0.7%

Atlanta, Boston, New York City, Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Milwaukee

2

Delta ConnectionAtlanta (6) Atlanta www.delta.com

22.8%

Atlanta, Detroit

5.2%

Atlanta, Detroit 211,613 211,613 201,211 201,211

5.2%

-51.6%

Airlines (2) Southwest Airlines (2) Southwest Airlines (2) 222 Southwest www.southwest.com www.southwest.com www.southwest.com

164,295 339,763

-51.6%

Atlanta

Eagle (3) American Eagle(3) (3) American Eagle 333 American www.aa.com www.aa.com www.aa.com

147,981 146,424

1.1%

Charlotte, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, 1.1% 147,981 147,981 Washington,146,424 D.C. 146,424

3

93,613 2.3% Washington, US Airways Express Charlotte, New Washington, D.C. Charlotte, Chicago, Chicago, NewYork, York,Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. D.C., Charlotte, Philadelphia 91,507 www.usairways.com

Express UnitedExpress Express United 444 United www.united.com www.united.com www.united.com

82,426 58,692

40.4%

Chicago, Newark 82,426 82,426 58,692 58,692

40.4%

4

Frontier Airlines Chicago, Chicago, Newark Newark 76,769 83,633 www.frontierairlines.com

(4) Allegiant (4) Allegiant (4) 555 Allegiant www.allegiantair.com www.allegiantair.com www.allegiantair.com

73,673 26,803

174.9%

Fort Lauderdale, Myrtle Beach, Orlando, 73,673 73,673 Punta Gorda,26,803 Savannah, St. Petersburg 26,803

174.9%

5

40,826Beach, 9.8% Punta Chicago (O'Hare)St. United Express Fort Savannah, Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale, Myrtle Myrtle Beach,Orlando, Orlando, PuntaGorda, Gorda, Savannah, St.Petersburg Petersburg 37,168 www.united.com

Airlines (5) SpiritAirlines Airlines (5) Spirit (5) 666 Spirit www.spirit.com www.spirit.com www.spirit.com

19,273 0

NA

Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, TampaNA 19,273 19,273 00

6

0 Myers, -100.0% Northwest AirlinkFort (6) Lauderdale, Tampa Fort Lauderdale, Fort Fort Myers,Orlando, Orlando, Tampa 46,083 www.nwa.com

164,295 164,295 339,763 339,763

169,137 137,730

-8.2%

Denver

NA

RESEARCHED RESEARCHEDBY BYCHUCK CHUCKSODER SODERAND ANDDEB DEBHILLYER HILLYER (1)The Thenew newlist listappears appearson onthe theleft. left.On Onthe theright, right,we've we've included included aa similar similar list we published in 2010 to give readers readers aa sense sense of of how how local localairline airlineservice servicehas haschanged changedover overtime. time.(2) (2)Southwest Southwestbought bought Source:Akron-Canton Akron-CantonAirport.

Airport.(1) Source:

AirTranAirways Airwaysinin2010.

2010.ItItbegan beganscaling scalingback backservice serviceat atAkron-Canton Akron-Cantonin in2016 2016and and will will stop stop using using the the airport in June 2017. (3) American Airlines AirTran Airlines finalized finalized aa merger mergerwith withU.S. U.S.Airways Airwaysin in2015.

2015.The TheU.S. U.S.Airways AirwaysExpress Expressbrand brandthen then becamepart partof ofthe theAmerican AmericanEagle Eaglebrand. brand.(4) (4)Allegiant Allegiantstopped stoppedserving servingAkron-Canton Akron-Canton Airport Airport in in February February 2017. It shifted those flights to Cleveland became Cleveland Hopkins Hopkins International InternationalAirport, Airport,adding addingadditional additionalroutes routesininthe theprocess. process.(5) (5)Spirit Spirit beganserving servingAkron-Canton Akron-CantonAirport AirportininNovember November2016.

2016.(6) (6)Delta Deltaand andNorthwest Northwest merged merged in in 2009.

2009. That That year, Akron-Canton Airport reported the began the number number of of enplaned enplanedpassengers passengersfor forNorthwest Northwestand andDelta Deltaunder underthe theDelta Deltaname. name.The The numberswere wereseparate separateinin2008.

2008. numbers

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Source Lunch Terrence S. Robinson

Executive director of Magnet’s Early College Early Career program Terrence Robinson’s background is in business development.

But, he said, Case Western Reserve University’s MBA program “completely changed” how he viewed his career.

“Weatherhead’s MBA program is deeply centered on discovering what you are passionate about and what drives you beyond a salary,” he said. “In discovering my passion, I realized that there were three areas that truly inspired me: education, economic development and entrepreneurship.”

Stephen Herron/Magnet Robinson went on to work with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, helping with what was then known as the Academic Transformation Plan, and in Cuyahoga Community College’s workforce and economic development division.

Today, he leads Magnet’s Early College Early Career program, which combines all three areas of his passion. When fully implemented, the program will help students earn work experience and college credit while still in high school. — Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Five things All-time favorite movie “The Godfather,” parts 1 and 2

Book he’d recommend “Start With Why”

What he wanted to be when he grew up An actor (though he never pursued it)

Where you can find him outside of work Attending or coaching one of his kids’ games, whether it’s football, baseball, basketball or soccer season

Best vacation spot Dominican Republic

Lunch spot Cafe Sausalito 1301 East 9th Street, Cleveland

The meal One Chef’s Mista salad and one Sweetwater salad, both with waters

The vibe A quiet, spacious restaurant on the second floor of the Galleria

The bill $17.01, plus tip

Can you describe the Early College Early Career program?

It is a unique collaboration between high schools, community colleges and manufacturers to build a sustainable and skilled workforce.

ECEC takes local high school students and leads them through a two-year paid internship with a local manufacturer that trains them on useful skills (such as CNC machining and welding) and helps them develop critical thinking, a strong work ethic and teamwork. ECEC gives students the opportunity to receive hands-on, real-world training while making money to pay for college. In addition, participating students can earn college credit and collect technical certifications that can help them get further in their manufacturing career.

How does this program fit into students’ regular schedules?

Our number one criteria when identifying a high school or school district to partner with is building leadership and superintendent buy-in. We have to have buy-in at the leadership level specifically because to build out this program will take the principal being willing to build a class schedule unique to ECEC students. If you know anything about student scheduling, then you know the time and effort that educators put into building an entire school’s schedule. ECEC cohort students have a half-day schedule, where the first half of the day is at their high school, where they will complete their traditional high school courses. The second half of the day, the student will spend two days out of the week in their internship and the other three days taking College Credit Plus courses at one of our community college partners.

Why is this something valuable for students to experience?

This experience is valuable for students because it allows students to develop the technical skills they need while in high school, but maybe even more importantly, the two-year internship helps them to develop the social and cultural skills they need to have to work in a professional environment. The biggest complaint from employers, across all industries, is the lack of “soft” skills by young

people. This program gives students a real-world experience that will help them to learn those necessary “soft” skills while still in high school.

How is this different from a part-time job a student might get outside of school?

This is different than a part-time job because of the companies that have partnered with the ECEC program to provide these students with an internship. Most students would not have the technical skills necessary to go into a Lincoln Electric, Swagelok, Parker Hannifin, Nordson, Oatey, Fredon or Universal Metals and be able to get a job.

So why manufacturing? What makes the industry a good fit for an education-business partnership like this?

Contrary to popular belief, manufacturing never left Northeast Ohio. ... Given how important manufacturing is to our region’s economy, it only made sense that this industry would be a perfect fit this type of partnership. Also, manufacturing companies have a long history of using apprenticeships as a way to develop their future workforce. Now that we are seeing a resurgence in public support for both youth apprenticeships and traditional apprenticeship programs, the manufacturing industry is just a natural fit for the ECEC program.

Are there other industries where you think a program like this would work well?

Yes, I think that the Early College Early Career model would work perfect in the health care, IT and biotech industries.

Is there anything you’d like to see the educational system doing differently as they prepare students for college and careers?

The only thing that I think the educational system can do differently as they prepare students for college and careers is to minimize the hyper-focus on standardized testing. I would love to see our education system move away from this environment of over-testing our students. Let educators get back to helping students discover their strengths and grow as individuals.

in

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M A R C H 2 0 - 2 6 , 2 017

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MARKETING, ADVERTISING & EVENTS INSIGHTS.

Today’s Tip: Don’t take an opportunity to build a new relationship for granted.

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JOHN BANKS

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Crain’s Cleveland Business JBANKS@CRAIN.COM

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