Erie 2016 Section k

Annual economic report for the Erie region | Sunday, February 14, 2016

EriE 2016

INSIDE: A new Erie emerges on transformed bayfront. 2K | Family-run manufacturer celebrates 100 years. 1L | 4 under 40 making a difference. 1M | How CEO helped invest in Erie. 1N

2K | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | Sunday, February 14, 2016

ERIE 2016

ERIE TIMES-NEWS PHOTOS

LEFT: The GAF Materials Corp. plant, a bayfront anchor for more than 100 years, occupied the space west of the Erie County Convention Center in 2007. MIDDLE: The former GAF plant was demolished and the site cleared in preparation for environmental cleanup in 2012. RIGHT: A new parking garage and hotel are being built, part of a complex planned for the site.

Something to

BUILD ON

Changing times make resilience, entrepreneurial spirit essential to Erie’s future

WHAT DOES ERIE NEED?

“What Erie needs is ...” — how many times have you heard a sentence begin with those words?

Sometimes the end of the sentence is wishful or trivial. Lots of people say Erie needs a Cheesecake Factory, for instance.

Others suggest better weather, big-name concerts or a large international airport with cheap flights to hundreds of destinations.

We asked a range of people to provide a serious answer to that question: What does Erie need to succeed, to be a stronger, vibrant and successful community?

Here’s what they told us:

By JIM MARTIN jim.martin@timesnews.com Jan. 17, 2007, was a dark day for workers at GAF Materials Corp., who learned that the plant was closing after 120 years.

There is no glossing over the challenges they faced or the pain they felt.

Some went on to good jobs at GE Transportation or found work elsewhere.

Others have never fully recovered what they lost.

But in a broader sense, Erie did what it has always done. It took the punch. It moved on.

Doubts about that spirit of resilience can be weighed against evidence that will be presented Monday at a public meeting to be held at 7 p.m., next-door to the GAF site at Erie’s Bayfront Convention Center.

Representatives from Kidder Wachter Architecture & Design will present their concept for a $300 million development plan for the 12.5-acre site that was once home to GAF. Plans for the property, now known as Bayfront Place, include space for restaurants and offices, residential units, parking, bike trails and green space. A portion of the GAF property is already being used for a new parking garage that’s being built adjacent to the $54 million Courtyard by Marriott hotel that’s taking shape on the waterfront.

Not everyone will like this plan.

Somewillsayitsambitionsaretoosmall or too great, its intentions misplaced.

But the plan suggests something about Erie.

It says Erie won’t be content to stare at the crumbled remains of what used to be.

FORGED BY CHALLENGES The ongoing transformation of Erie’s bayfront, captured on the cover of this section, might be viewed as a symbol of Erie’s resilience.

Other signs of resilience are less eyecatching.

Ask Joe Dudenhoeffer, the 38-year-old chief executive and primary owner of Klein Plating Works, a small company that’s been in his family for 100 years.

The company survived a devastating fire that shut the plant down for several months in 2003, weathered crippling losses inflicted by the dot-com bust and lost substantial revenue when one of its biggest customers declared bankruptcy.

Today, the company has carved out a profitable niche and employs about 50 people.

“The people of Erie need to get to know each other. Getting to know the people who are your neighbors helps create a sense of belonging and shared identity in a local area. It also helps to strengthen connections and trust in the people with whom you share life in a given community.”

— Sister Marlene Bertke, coordinator for Erie Benedictines for Peace

“Continue improving the marketing of Erie outside our region (VisitErie).

“Strive to be a more ‘livable’ city to attract residential housing by improving safety and accessibility to retail, restaurants, entertainment and service businesses downtown.

“Government leaders at both the local and state level that have vision for growth, and consider growing businesses assets and not sources for tax revenue.” — ANDY COLWELL/Erie Times-News

Construction continues on the Courtyard by Marriott hotel and retail complex on Erie’s bayfront. The hotel is part of the planned Bayfront Place development. The plans will be discussed at a public meeting Monday at 7 p.m. at the Bayfront Convention Center.

But getting to that point wasn’t easy.

“I had ulcers back then,” Dudenhoeffer said in a recent interview. “There was a day when I think we had $38 in our checking account. I’ll look back at that and just remember where we were and where we came from.”

All of Erie County can do the same.

After weathering a deep recession that began in December 2007 and a slow recovery that left the local economy limping along for years, Erie County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9 percent.

And the number of unemployed Erie County residents fell from a high of 15,000 in January 2010 to 6,100 in December.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

ON THE COVER: An aerial view of Erie’s bayfront shows the Courtyard by Marriott hotel under construction on Jan. 7.

Photo taken by Rob Frank, special to the Erie Times-News.

COUNTING THE WINS Maybe we don’t reflect often enough on the success of companies like Klein Plating Works.

Many outsiders have observed that Erieites are good at remembering the past and reflecting on what they’ve lost along the way, but not so good at taking stock of what went right.

Rick Novotny, executive director of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, said people still talk about the loss of Erie Plastics in Corry in 2008.

Far fewer people, he said, are aware

➤ Please see BUILDING OUR FUTURE, 8K

Erie 2016 is the Erie Times-News’ 17th annual report on Erie’s economy. The coordinator and lead writer was Jim Martin. Reporters Erica Erwin, Kevin Flowers, Ron Leonardi, Dana Massing, Valerie Myers, Ed Palattella, Lisa Thompson and Gerry Weiss and contributing writer Kara Murphy assisted.

Graphic artist Chris Sigmund and the photo staff —

Steve Gorman, president of Waldameer Park & Water World

“Erie needs to start planning collectively for resiliency and climate adaptation. Our weather is going to continue to be more erratic and unpredictable.” — Amy

Jo Zola, executive director of EnvironmentErie

“Diversity. A diverse workforce and jobs.” — Andre Horton,

chairman of Erie County Council

“Stay positive. As a community, accept your role and make sure you stay positive, and work to make Erie the best place you can make it in your area.” — Erie Police

Chief Randy Bowers

➤ Comments continue, 8K

supervisor Christopher Millette and photographers Andy Colwell, Sarah Crosby, Jack Hanrahan and Greg Wohlford — contributed to the visuals.

The project was overseen by Doug Oathout, executive editor. Sherry Rieder, managing editor/production, supervised production. The section was designed by Kristin Bowers.

ERIE 2016

Sunday, February 14, 2016 | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | 3K

Region’s economic indicators A brief look at the state of Erie County and Crawford County.

Per capita personal income

Electric rates

The more we make, the more we spend.

Lower rates mean residents have more cash.

Erie metropolitan area

Penelec rates

$38,200 in 2014

$109.75 in January

Unemployment

Up $21.92 from January 2015.

Based on 750 kilowatts per month.

The verdict:

Higher bills mean less money in our pockets.

Natural gas rates

Employment is one of the most important indicators of economic wellbeing.

The verdict:

Erie

Down from 5.1% in in December Dec. 2014

4.9%

Meadville

Down from 4.8% in 4.7% in December Dec. 2014

Manufacturing employment

Erie County

Manufacturing remains a key employment sector.

in December

The verdict:

Erie, Crawford counties’ rates are improving.

22,300

Unchanged from Dec. 2014

Crawford Co. Down 100

7,500

in December

from Dec. 2014

Up from $37,276 in 2013

The verdict:

Manufacturing jobs are not growing in Erie region.

Service employment Service industries include fast food, banking, insurance and other jobs.

As rates rise, residents spend less elsewhere.

Erie County

National Fuel rates

105,800

$53.57 in January

Crawford Co.

24,600

Based on 94,900 cubic feet used per year.

Up 400 jobs from Dec. 2014

in December With many jobs added, this sector is a bright spot in the local economy.

The verdict:

Customers are paying less than they did a year ago.

Gasoline prices

Flights

The average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded.

People boarding planes at Erie International Airport is a reflection of business and leisure travel.

Erie metropolitan area

$1.85

early February

Down 23 cents a gallon from early February 2015

The verdict:

Up 700 jobs from Dec. 2014

in December

Down $4.91 from January 2015.

The verdict:

A modest gain is still good news.

Pump savings means consumers can spend money elsewhere.

Employment at plant

GE Transportation

GE Transportation’s Lawrence Park plant is Erie County’s largest employer.

in 2015

The verdict:

4,100 Down about 500 from 2014.

Park visitors

Presque Isle State Park attendance

Visitors help drive local tourism.

4.06 million

The number of local jobs has dropped over the past year.

in 2015

89,587 Down 7,635 from 2014

Up 310,000 from 2014

The verdict:

Erie International Airport

Erie’s relatively dry summer and typical temperatures attracted visitors.

The verdict:

Fewer passengers hurts local economy.

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry; Erie International Airport; VisitErie; AAA; U.S. Census Bureau; GE Transportation; National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp.; Penelec; Presque Isle State Park ERIE TIMES-NEWS file photos; JIM MARTIN and CHRIS SIGMUND/Erie Times-News

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Scott going strong

DEVELOPER:

Erie company ready for new adventures in entertainment

By GERRY WEISS gerry.weiss@timesnews.com

FILE PHOTO JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

Nick Scott Sr. is president and founder of Scott Enterprises, which owns hotels, restaurants, Peek’n Peak Resort and Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park Resort. The company has plans to add restaurants and an adventure park in the region. hand sofa the primary piece of furniture in their living room, before Kim Scott would leave for a substitute teaching job.

Today, Nick Scott Sr. is president of Erie-based Scott Enterprises, which owns about 30 commercial properties, including hotels, restaurants, a ski resort and an indoor water park ranked No. 7 in the nation

by USA Today.

The company, which opened its second hotel in the Buffalo area this past fall, employs more than 2,000 people, attracts 4 million visitors annually at its businesses, and serves more than 2 million meals a year at its restaurants.

Scott’s two favorite hob-

bies, photography and travel, fuel his drive to study and learn about the hospitality industry around the world, and to see what unique methods and experiences he can bring back to his hometown.

“I have this curiosity that never stops,” he said. “I’m always out there thirsty, looking for new ideas.”

Scott is a stickler for details, taking photographs of the hotel rooms he stays in and the meals he eats — yes, photos of food on a plate and the various presentations he sees — while collecting hundreds of restaurant menus.

“My kids joke with me that I’m someday going to open up a menu museum,”

he said before laughing.

John Oliver, president of VisitErie, the primary tourism agency for Erie County, has known Scott since he arrived here 14 years ago when Oliver changed jobs and left his post as the director of marketing and sales for the Niagara Falls Convention Center.

Oliver said Scott has had as big an impact on the local tourism economy as “anybody in Erie’s history,” citing Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park Resort, one of Scott Enterprises’ crown jewels, as attracting a sizable portion of its 350,000 annual visitors “during a time period when, in the past, no one would come to Erie during the winter.”

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On a 17-hour flight from Newark, N.J., to Hong Kong, at the start of a recent 40day trip to Southeast Asia, Nick Scott Sr. perused nearly 45,000 photographs on his laptop computer.

The photos, all shot by Scott himself, were from vacations he and his wife took to India, Antarctica and the Baltic states over the past year and a half.

Scott, a passionate photography buff for more than 50 years, sifted through the photos, searching for gems that perfectly captured the culture and climate of those exotic locations.

Boats on the sacred Ganges River. A leopard seal sitting on an iceberg in Antarctica before slipping into the water. Children walking near a balloon seller in a busy square in India.

Life wasn’t always like this for Scott, 74, who is perhaps the region’s most prominent developer with one of the best-known names in Erie.

In his early 20s, Scott was a front-desk clerk working the overnight shift at a motel in downtown Erie. His wife, Kim Scott, would wake up their two infant daughters at 5 a.m., load the babies into the couple’s only car, and drive to pick up her husband after work.

They’d return to their small house, with a second-

HOW GECAC IMPACTS ERIE COUNTY

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“Part of what I think has led to his success is that I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone who asks as many questions about everything, whatever the topic,” Oliver said of Scott. “He’s always trying to learn more, to grasp new trends and take it all in. He’s extremely unique.”

Scott announced in October plans for a $10 million adventure park that would include a ninja-style

Part of what I think has led to his success is that I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone who asks as many questions about everything, whatever the topic.

He’s always trying to learn more, to grasp new trends and take it all in. He’s extremely unique.”

— JOHN OLIVER, VISITERIE PRESIDENT, ON NICK SCOTT SR.

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ERIE 2016

Building our future Continued from 2K that the massive 400,000-square-foot building on Route 6 is fully rented to tenants that together employ nearly 200 people.

WemournthelossoftheBostonStore andignoretherealitythat Erieisapowerhouse of a retail center and that the Millcreek Mall complex ranks as one of the nation’s largest in terms of total square footage.

And in our focus on the past, perhaps we ignore the money being invested for the future on Erie’s west side at Lakewood Plaza and Pittsburgh Commons.

While we lament the passing of Steris Corp., the failure of Rent-Way and the juice plant that was never built, we forget the massive Welch’s juice plant in North East and the hundreds of jobs it provides.

Time and the forces of the economy have claimed some of Erie’s most cherished institutions.

But what about Erie’s other institutions — a thriving Waldameer Park & Water World, a jam-packed Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park Resort?

Who would have guessed that Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine would grow into the nation’s largest medical school as measured by enrollment, an institution with an economic impactestimatedat$185millionayear?

The footprint of parent company LECOM Health continued to grow in 2015 as the health system announced the addition of three senior living communities, the completion of the $42 million LECOM Senior Living Center and the acquisition of Corry Memorial Hospital.

THE PARADOX OF CHEAP ENERGY Both resilience and some smart planning will be in order this year as Erie business owners battle a challenge that few saw coming: low energy prices.

While consumers are saving money at the pump and to heat their homes, cheap coal, oil and natural gas have contributed to the loss of hundreds of local jobs, including at Lord Corp., Eriez Manufacturing, FMC Measurement Solutions, GE Transportation and Joy Global in Franklin.

“Most of us were surprised by the

They say necessity is the mother of invention.

When you have necessity, you better get inventing.” — TIM SHUTTLEWORTH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF ERIEZ MANUFACTURING speed of the decline and how it hasn’t seemed to be like the past where you would have a bounceback,” said Tim Shuttleworth, chief executive of Eriez Manufacturing, which has about 320 employees in Erie County.

“The coal industry has been pummeled,” he said. “Some of our customers were the biggest players in the coal industry, and they keep filing for bankruptcy.”

The decline in those markets prompted Eriez to offer early retirement options. Mostly, though, the company’s strategy has been to look to other markets and other products.

“They say necessity is the mother of invention,” Shuttleworth said. “When you have necessity, you better get inventing.”

AN ENERGY BUBBLE? Ken Louie, a professor of economics and director of the Economic Research InstituteofErieatPennStateBehrend’s Black School of Business, said most of us underestimated the effect lower energy prices would have on the economy in places like Erie that build machines and parts for the energy sector.

Some have suggested there is an energy bubble that could burst, in much the same fashion that dot-com companies crashed and burned in the early part of the 2000s.

Louie doesn’t think so.

He does see the potential for further fallout, some of which could be felt here.

But the picture isn’t yet clear.

“In the long run, it’s like the dust is settling,” Louie said. “For now, the dust is still in the air.”

WORKING TOGETHER The same might be said for efforts to solve many of the challenges fac-

ing Erie, from violence and poverty to blight and a shortage of new businesses.

Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper sees a community still struggling to work together and to resist a tendency to be negative.

“No matter what you do, there are always going to be people who resist all the good things in our community, from the baseball stadium to the library,” Dahlkemper said.

Erie has its challenges, she said.

Gone, for the most part, are the days of walking out of high school graduation and into a family-sustaining job.

The good news, she said, is the number of people working to create an environment where jobs can flourish.

“I am seeing more collaboration in this community,” she said, referring to the growing number of organizations working to help entrepreneurs. “I am seeing energy around new and different ideas.”

There is other good news. Jim Kurre, a retired economics professor and director emeritus of the Economic Research Institute of Erie, has long championed the importance of what he calls “the meds and the eds,” an unlikely employment sector that includes health care and education.

In a community often described as a rust-belt manufacturing town, UPMC Hamot and Saint Vincent Hospital are two of Erie County’s six largest employers.

Kurre is especially bullish on the role education has and is likely to have in Erie’s future.

“Locally, the growth in higher education has been dramatic in the last 40 years. We are bringing in students from all over the world, and some of them are staying,” he said. “That helps the local economy, and it helps Erie have a broader world view.”

A TOURIST TOWN, TOO On that January day when workers at GAF learned their plant was closing, one worker beckoned to the hotel and convention center taking shape next door and said he wasn’t surprised.

“They’re turning Erie into a flipping

➤ Please see FUTURE, 10K

MAKING CONNECTIONS. BUILDING FUTURES.

WHAT DO WE NEED?

“I think what we need is continued and increased collaboration, and we need to appreciate all the positive things about Erie.”

— Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper

“The first thing to do is admit we’re clearly failing as a region and blow up everything we are doing. We changed Harborcreek eight or nine years ago, fixing our blight and offering significant financial incentives to redevelop and attract jobs, and we’re thriving.” — Dean Pepicello, chairman of the

Harborcreek Township Board of Supervisors

“The Erie region needs to continue focusing on providing clearly identifiable pathways for children, youths and adults to move up the socioeconomic ladder. Doing so breaks the cycles of poverty and hopelessness, provides a higher quality pool of employees to businesses, and even fosters entrepreneurism.” — Steven Bishop,

board president of Impact Corry

“It needs more individuals willing to take chances and selflessly promote new ideas, rather than small factions closing every door many have worked to open.” — Jack Daneri,

Erie County District Attorney

“Erie would be better off if we had one county government. Get rid of the city and the county and put them all under one heading. That is not a statement on the individuals who hold these jobs. But if we could combine all this under one effective organization, that would be very powerful.”

— Terry Cavanaugh, chief executive of Erie Insurance

“Erie needs openness to new ideas.

When creating or growing a company, it is important to be open to ideas from people who have enjoyed similar successes and experiences.” — Jeff Parnell, executive director

of the Erie Technology Incubator

“The Erie region needs to lift up our most struggling neighbors through job growth, mentorships, faith partnerships, community service and genuine avenues of opportunity.” — Nancy Milkowski, executive

director of Greater Erie Area Habitat for Humanity

“Positivity and allowing people who want to do things the space and the ability to do those things.” — Jonathan D’Silva, intellectual

property lawyer

“What Erie needs is linkage to the hightech and more advanced sectors of the economy.” — Ken Louie, director of the

Economic Research Institute of Erie at Penn State Behrend

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ERIE 2016

Sunday, February 14, 2016 | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | 9K

FILE PHOTO/Erie Times-News

Nick Scott Sr. traverses an obstacle while training for the Aerial Adventure Course at Peek’n Peak Resort near Findley Lake, N.Y. Scott’s company bought the ski resort out of bankruptcy in 2011 and added the aerial course in 2014.

Scott: Company set for new adventures Continued from 4K obstacle course and glowin-the-dark miniature golf, and feature more than 20 trampolines, including trampolines where participants play dodge ball and shoot baskets as they jump.

Scott said construction work on the project, which he calls “unlike anything else in the country,” should begin sometime this spring.

“Nick’s innovative vision has always provided Erie with quality hotels, restaurants and entertainment, and his desire and drive generates others to invest and innovate in the region,” said Barbara Chaffee, chief executive of theErieRegionalChamber and Growth Partnership.

Chaffee has known Scott since the 1970s, when she worked through the ranks at Holiday Inn and eventually became president of her family’s Erie-based Oakdale Corp., a hotel and restaurant management company that competed with the Scott family business.

“He’s a tough businessperson, in that he’s cautious about his investments and works very hard to get the best deal he can,” Chaffee said about Scott.

“That’s a big responsibility of running a good business.”

Scott was 9 when he worked his first job —

I’ve always had a lot of pride in Erie and doing things here. I enjoy creating something out of nothing.”

— NICK SCOTT SR. washing dishes at Scott’s Restaurant, owned by his father, the late Chris Scott.

During his teenage years, he worked as a gardener and lifeguard at Scott’s Motel, earning roughly 50 cents an hour.

The Erie native was an only child raised in the public school system, first at Harding School and then Strong Vincent High School, before enrolling at Cornell University, where he studied business, took courses in the top hotel administration program in America, and met his future wife.

The first business he developed, armed with his father’s financial backing, was a Bonanza Sirloin Pit restaurant on Peach Street in 1967.

For $1.39, a customer could get a 12-ounce bonein sirloin steak, baked potato, salad and a thick slice of Texas toast.

“They were lining out the door and around the building,” said Scott, who managed the restaurant

and worked in the kitchen as the head cook.

Nearly 50 years later, Scott remains a thriving, prominent developer, while observing that “most of my friends are retired now.”

Scott Enterprises paid more than $11 million in August 2011 to buy Peek’n Peak Resort, near Findley Lake, N.Y., out of bankruptcy.

Harbor Place, a proposed $150 million hotel, retail and residential complex that his company hopes to build, is still in a development phase. The project would be located west of Blasco Library and built on 12 acres on the east bayfront, land Scott and his business have owned for 17 years.

Scott also is bringing three IHOP restaurants to the Erie area and expects to open the first one in April.

“I’ve always had a lot of pride in Erie and doing things here,” said Scott, who has five children and 18 grandchildren. “I enjoy creating something out of nothing. You look at a piece of land and say, ‘I see something that I think will work in this market.’ And then you make it happen.”

G E R R Y W E I S S can be reached at 870-1884 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ ETNweiss.

Waldameer: Additions in works for water park Continued from 5K percent more operating days. Our operating expenses increased as well, mainly due to increased utilities — water and electric — and more staffing for the water park expansion.”

Season passes, which Waldameer introduced in 2010, increased in popularity, giving Waldameer an influx of cash at the start of each season. Gorman said sales of season passes rose 15 percent, and that about 20 percent of those carrying passes were from outside Erie County.

The wave pool drove much of the increased traffic at Waldameer, Gorman said. But he said the park was able to accommodate more people mainly because of the wave pool, which can hold as many as 1,000 bathers. The large number of people in the wave pool alleviated crowding in other areas of

The wave pool did what I was hoping for. It spread people out in our other water parks.”

— STEVE GORMAN, WALDAMEER PRESIDENT the park, particularly on hot days, Gorman said.

“Some people call a wave pool a people eater,” he said. “The wave pool did what I was hoping for.

It spread people out in our other water parks, because we were overcrowded on busy days. Traffic flow was better. It was a new attraction that drew people in as well.”

Gorman and Nelson are already planning for the 2017 season, when the third phase of the water park expansion is scheduled to open. Among the features will be a large climbing structure, more slides and a large tipping bucket.

In the years ahead, Wal-

dameer plans to add more adult water slides, “and we are also looking into doing something to the amusement park,” Gorman said.

“We have a long-range plan.”

A dedication to such thinking — rain or shine — has become Waldameer’s way.

“Family-owned parks can get complacent,” said Mona, of American Resort Management. “It is always nice to see someone who is successful stay successful.”

E D P A L A T T E L L A can be reached at 870-1813 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ ETNpalattella.

10K | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | Sunday, February 14, 2016

ERIE 2016

Future: Erie’s resilience key to its success Continued from 8K tourist town,” the worker said.

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

For all the manufacturing jobs that remain — and there are more than 22,000 people who make things in Erie — Erie’s tourism sector continues to grow.

From the Courtyard by Marriott taking shape on the bayfront to EXTRA: To see Scott Enterprises’ plans for a new adventure park more photos of in Summit Township, Erie projects under continues to bolster its case construction, as a vacation destination. including on But not even the most Erie’s bayfront, enthusiastic champions of go to GoErie. tourism suggest that tourcom/photos. ism is anything more than one leg of our economy.

We can only guess at what the future will hold for Erie. Where will we work? What will we do?

More than most, Jeff Parnell, executive director of the Erie Technology Incubator at Gannon University, might be catching a glimpse of the years ahead as he works with incubator tenants.

For the most part, he likes what he sees.

“I think Erie is making progress,” he said.

“I encounter more and more entrepreneurs who are passionate.”

More importantly, he said, there’s something behind that passion.

“The quality of the companies we have at ETI is at an all-time high,” he said. “We have 20-plus companies, and many of them are Silicon Valley-caliber.”

But does Parnell see in any of those entrepreneurs the makings of the next Lord Corp., the next Erie Insurance?

Parnell’sview isthattheydon’thavetobe.

He’s not looking for the next Zurn or Sterisonthehorizon.Heishoping,however, that a number of these fledgling firms will take root and grow into profitable midsize companies. Maybe they will be solid, fly-below-the-radar companies like Klein Plating.

It is a vision of an Erie that does not have all of its economic eggs in one basket.

It’s a hope that seems well within reach.

A lot of those new companies, Parnell said, “are off to a really good start.”

J I M M A R T I N can be reached at 870-1668 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter. com/ETNmartin.

FILE PHOTO JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

FILE PHOTO ANDY COLWELL/Erie Times-News

RECENTLY AT THE BAYFRONT CONVENTION CENTER: At left, gymnasts gathered Jan. 16 for the 15th annual Stars and Stripes Gymnastics Invitational. At right, dogs and their handlers visited Erie for the Erie Kennel Club All-Breed Dog Show on Jan. 30.

Center stays busy

CONVENTIONS:

Facility foresees continued growth

By KEVIN FLOWERS kevin.flowers@timesnews.com J. David Henderson’s employer has been to the Bayfront Convention Center several times for large meetings — and is scheduled to return again soon.

“We just like the facility, and they do an excellent job there,” said Henderson, district director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2666.

The AFSCME union plans to host large meetings/conventions at the Convention Center in September, as well as in November 2017.

Henderson said each meeting could draw as many as 250 attendees.

“The atmosphere is good, and the feedback we always get from our people is very positive,” Henderson said.

Officials involved with booking events at the Convention Center, located at the foot of Sassafras Street, say that the 145,000-square-foot waterfront facility has hosted more than 2,900 events of various types since it opened in 2007, said Jeff Esposito, the Convention Center’s general manger.

Those events brought nearly 1.1 million people to the Convention Center, Esposito said.

And officials expect that success to continue.

Erie Events, which oversees the Convention Center, as well as event planners and meeting recruiters from VisitErie,theregion’stourism agency, recently announced that a total of 17 conventions are planned in 2016 and 2017.

In addition to the AFSCME meetings, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, a statewide police chiefs organization and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania are among the groups planning to come to Erie’s waterfront for conventions in 2016 and 2017.

The Convention Center will benefit later this year when the 191-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel opens.

The hotel is currently under construction adjacent to the Convention Center. The new hotel will complement the eight-story, 200-room Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel, which is connected to the Convention Center by an overhead public walkway.

“I’m encouraged by what’s happening,’ said Casey Wells, Erie Events’ executive director. “And I’m convinced that as more people experience our facilities, it will lead to increased interest and results.”

John Oliver, president of VisitErie, recently said that the scheduled 2016-17 conventions will have a regional economic impact “in the millions, “ although an exact estimate was not available.

The hotels “help us go after larger groups, and make us more competitive” in the convention business, Oliver said.

Scheduled events in 2016 include the Pennsylvania

Chiefs of Police Association meeting in July; a Frontiers in Education conference in October; AFSCME union’s Council 85 conference and a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission convention, both in September; and the Thirst youth convention in November.

Conventions booked for 2017 include the Pennsylvania Music Educators, in April; Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers and the Pennsylvania Orthopedic Society, both in May; the County Commissioners Association event, in August; and another AFSCME meeting in November.

Seven additional conventions are scheduled, but they have yet to be publicly announced by the organizations booking them, said Elizabeth D’Aurora, coordinator of communications for Erie Events, formerly the Erie County Convention Center Authority.

K E V I N F L O W E R S can be reached at 870-1693 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNflowers.

• “Kidz Zone” - 8 exciting new slides!

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Opening Weekend: May 7th & May 8th!

Beginning June 7th open 7 days a week.

A Season Pass is your Best Value!

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Sunday, February 14, 2016 | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | 11K

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12K | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | Sunday, February 14, 2016

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