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Two businesses honored for spirit of giving By J. Patrick Eaken Press Staff Writer news@presspublications.com
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More and more of our clients have joined the family of returning regular clients.
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Two Oregon businesses were honored with Prism Awards because of their spirit of giving. H&M Open Arms Massage Studio was announced as the Small Business of the Year, in part for its role in local fundraisers, and Food for Thought is the Non-Profit of the Year at the 21st Annual Prism Award Ceremony March 27 at Sunrise Park and Banquet Center in Millbury. Food for Thought began in May 2007 and has seen the number of families served increase each year as its reach into the surrounding community expanded as well. The non-profit, which has four employees, now has 18 food pantries in three counties and serves approximately 1,400 families a month. It also maintains a free lunch program for Toledo’s central city each Saturday morning, where they take 350 lunches for a community picnic. “Food for Thought was founded in Oregon by people in this community with a passion for this community,” said nominator Sam Melden. “We never decided to locate here, but we have decided to stay here because of the incredible community support. Everyone from churches to small businesses to schools to other non-profits have been so supportive of our mission. “Our bottom line is measured not only in dollars and cents but also in volunteer hours and in-kind donations. While our financial support comes from all over Northwest Ohio, our day-in and day-out volunteer support comes primarily from people in this community. Because this area has such a small town feel and is full
FFT also remains involved in an increasing number of communities through its Mobile Food Pantry. This is Food for Thought’s second Prism Award
Northwood High School student Sarah Raymond shares a laugh with Chrys Petersen after being selected as Young Person of the Year. See story on page 3. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean) of so many qualified and capable people we have found it to be a great place to be.” Food for Thought relies heavily on partnerships, from the Farmers Market downtown to a small church down the street. FFT partners with 17 different locations all over the region on a monthly basis, allowing for different groups to volunteer with the FFT staff. “Food for Thought aims to feed our community in a thoughtful way,” Melden
stated. “We don’t simply hope to feed people. We hope to treat people differently who are experiencing food insecurity. We know that dignity and respect are a great pairing with our supplemental groceries we bring to our patrons each month. Melden says one of the way FFT does this is through its Choice Food Pantry model, which allows patrons to shop for food their family needs rather than simply accepting food that is pre-packaged.
H&M Open Arms Massage H&M Open Arms Massage Studio owner Ashley J. Hirzel joined up with another newly licensed therapist, Stacey L. Miller, and together they joined forces and created a small studio space on Navarre in July of 2011. It was at this point where H&M Open Arms Massage Studio made its true debut. H&M then welcomed Kim Houser, massage therapist and esthetician. In order to create a wide variety of new services other than just massage therapy, such as facials, scrubs, wraps and waxing, H&M welcomed Jessica Chernota, Jane Gartee, and Kaitlin Tucker to their staff. In July 2012 exactly one year after their grand opening Ashley received the keys to their current and much more spacious location on Ansonia Street. The business now has seven employees. Continued on page 2
Municipal power plant may be in Oregon’s future By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com Despite a recent holdup in the permit process, Oregon Clean Energy LLC expects to break ground on its $800 million energy generation facility by late spring or early summer. Oregon Mayor Mike Seferian and Administrator Mike Beazley recently met with Oregon Clean Energy officials to get an
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update on the project, which calls for the construction of a facility that will convert clean natural gas to electricity. “They were supposed to break ground in April, but they were slowed down by the permit process,” said Seferian on Wednesday. “They needed a permit to put their power into the grid at the Bayshore power plant so they would be able to sell it, but it was held up a bit by First Energy,” said Seferian. By last week, there were signs the project was again moving forward, he added. “The permit should sail through, and things can take off now. The permit process should be streamlined, and we should see a formal groundbreaking ceremony shortly. We should know the status of when they expect to get the permit by the beginning of this week. It may now be more like June when we see the groundbreaking,” he said. The facility, which will be built on a 30 acre parcel of land at 816 N. Lallendorf Road, located within an enterprise zone, will provide enough new electricity for 500,000 homes. “In all likelihood, we’ll be working with them in the future to see if we can make them a municipal power company…
and they can give us a better rate for the power,” said Seferian. “They could become the predominant power producer locally for the city and maybe the area. At the very least, they could bargain with some of our industrial users to supply them power directly without them having to go through the grid and paying transportation fees and maintenance agreements with First Energy. This could be real competition to First Energy.” William Martin and Bill Siderewicz, managing partners of Oregon Clean Energy LLC, said last year they had been coming to Oregon for three years to discuss the project. Plans call for the plant to begin operations in 2017. “Everything looks good for the project to continue,” said Seferian. Company officials have been reviewing proposals from construction and engineering firms to build the project, and will likely make a selection this month, according to Beazley. Oregon Clean Energy’s timeline has been on target since the company announced plans in September 2012 to construct the plant. The project has received enthusiastic support from the community.
Last year, council approved an enterprise zone agreement with company officials for a tax exemption of 100 percent for 15 years on the increase in assessed value of real and tangible property. The Enterprise Zone Act allows communities to execute agreements for the purpose of establishing, expanding, renovating or occupying facilities and hiring new employees and/or preserving jobs within the zone in exchange for tax incentives. The project is expected to create about 450 construction jobs over three years, and 26 new full-time, permanent jobs once the facility begins operations, with a total annual payroll of about $3.2 million. The city approved an agreement with Clean Energy for the plant’s use of the raw water intake system that will generate about $1 million per year, which will help keep the water and sewer rates low. The Oregon school board also approved a tax incentive donation agreement with Clean Energy, which will annually contribute funds to the district for 15 years. At the end of the agreement, the district will have received payments totaling $17.5 million.
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