by Office Manager | Jul 31, 2023 | Community, Events, PCED Office
Haviland, Ohio — The Young Professionals of Paulding County took an enlightening step into the world of drainage solutions as they embarked on a behind-the-scenes tour of Haviland Drainage Products this week. Sales associate Emil Stoller graciously hosted the group, offering an exclusive glimpse into the company’s history, operations, and its reach in both regional and national markets. The visit concluded with an interactive tour of the facility, allowing participants to gain valuable insights and pose questions.
The Young Professionals of Paulding County is a dynamic networking group catering to individuals up to age 40, who reside, work, or worship within Paulding County. The group’s primary mission is to foster networking opportunities, explore the county’s offerings, and facilitate professional development activities for its members.
“The opportunity to explore the history and operations of Haviland Drainage Products and Haviland Plastics was an invaluable experience,” said Kristen Schilt, Office Manager for Paulding County Economic Development and a member of the Young Professionals of Paulding County. “We were truly impressed by the company’s commitment to sustainability and innovation in the drainage and plastics industry. This business tour marks a milestone for our group, and we look forward to organizing similar visits to other local businesses in the future.”
The group will join the Paulding Area Chamber of Commerce for their next event at the Paulding County Community Night with the TinCaps at Parkview Field on August 19th. Join in for a promising evening of camaraderie and entertainment to celebrate the end of summer.
For individuals interested in attending the Paulding County Community Night, tickets can be secured online until August 7th through the Paulding Area Chamber of Commerce website. For inquiries and additional information about Young Professionals of Paulding County, please reach out to office@pced.net or call 419-399-8295.
by Office Manager | Mar 29, 2023 | Community, Events, Jobs, PCED Office, Workforce
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release March 22, 2023
PCED hosts College, Business & Industry Showcase
PAULDING – The Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office will host a College, Business and Industry Showcase event on April 4 at the Extension Building on the Paulding County Fairgrounds. The event will bring junior and senior students from all three Paulding County high schools to learn about, meet and discuss future opportunities with area colleges and businesses.
“This event is an opportunity for students to become familiarized with local business and what they do, gain awareness of various careers, get leads on summer employment, see what colleges in the region have to offer, and much more. We understand that each student is in a different place with job and future education decisions. Our hope with this event is to meet students where they are in that decision process and help provide them with numerous options to consider for their future.” stated Economic Development Office Manager Kristen Schilt.
The event will run from 8am-12noon with students arriving at the top of each hour. All Vantage Career Center students from Antwerp, Paulding and Wayne Trace schools are invited to attend the opening hour on their way to the career center. Each school will then bus their students to the event on the hour for forty-five minutes. Homeschool students and the general public are invited to attend at any time.
Students will be provided a “passport” upon arrival. The passports suggest a variety of questions to ask participating entities to help create conversation. Each student is encouraged to talk to a minimum of five businesses and have the business sign their passport. Completed passports will be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift gas card, one winner per school will be drawn. The gift cards were sponsored by National Oil & Gas, Inc. They provide fuel to Marathon gas stations all over the county.
This event has grown over the years. This year there are a new record of 52 entities that have sent an RSVP for the event, including the new Rhodes State Mobile RV laboratory. For questions about the event contact the PCED office at 419-399-8295.
by Office Manager | Mar 13, 2023 | Events, Jobs, Membership, PCED Office, Workforce
The Paulding/Defiance County Ohio Means Jobs (OMJ) office hosted a recent business workshop for Paulding County businesses. The event was facilitated by the Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) at the Paulding Eagles community room.
The event was intended to educate business owners on services, tax credits and reimbursement programs available to employers through OMJ and Job & Family Services offices.
Tiffany Goings, Workforce Supervisor for Ohio Means Jobs, opened the meeting and presented OMJ’s Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) and On-The-Job (OTJ) Training reimbursement programs.
The IWT program is for employers interested in upskilling or training an employee for a different skill. OMJ will provide reimbursement for 50% of the training cost. To be eligible, the employee must be full-time and employed for at least six months.
The OTJ program is for potential candidates an employee would want to bring onto their workforce. Before an employee goes through the onboarding process, they’ll meet with the OMJ career coach team to determine their eligibility, and if they are eligible, they can receive 50% of their hourly wage, up to $13,000 or six months, whichever comes first; meaning an employer can put $13,000 back into their business to train and bring on a new hire.
OMJ also offers pre-hire assessments, drug screens, background checks, job postings on their ohiomeansjobs.com website, and services to post to social media. All of these services are available at no cost to businesses.
Greg Warren, Ohio Means Jobs Program Administrator, demonstrated how to navigate the OMJ website, i.e. employers posting their job listings, establishing metrics and guidelines for resume mining to find the ideal candidate, and managing their online accounts.
Presenter B.J. Knutson, Program Administrator for the Office of Workforce Development, presented the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), a federal tax program for employers who hire eligible individuals from defined targeted groups, many of which have barriers to employment. “There is no cap on the amount of dollars that the IRS is offering,” explains Knutson. This program can also be used in conjunction with OTJ training and apprenticeship programs.”
Tech Cred was then presented and explained by Tori Atkinson, Executive Director of Workforce Development Client Services for Northwest State Community College. TechCred, a workforce training program, provides reimbursement dollars to Ohio companies that have W2 employees. Reimbursement is provided for qualified businesses when they train and upskill their workforce in short-term, technology-focused, industry-recognized credentials. Atkinson describes the program as “a win-win. Ohio is winning because your companies are winning as you train your individuals and upskill them.”
Since the start of the program in October 2018 and through 2022, over 2100 employers have applied for TechCred, equaling $24.3 million. 57,000 plus credentials have been awarded and funded through the program. “We have companies in our area that have applied [every round] since October of 2018. The application portal is currently open. The window opened on March 1, 2023, and closes at 3 p.m. on March 31, 2023. The next round will begin in May.
There are currently over 2000 credentials that are pre-approved on the list. “When the program launched, there were just over 400, and the only way to have credentials added to the pre-approval list is by employers. Training providers, universities, community colleges, don’t have the ability to request to have something added. This is completely an employer-driven system.” Participants were guided through a sign-up form for the Ohio program. For more information, to begin the application process, visit www.techcred.ohio.gov.
The meeting closed out with quick presentations from Ivy Tech, Ft. Wayne; Northwest State and Rhodes State Community Colleges as the shared how each could assist businesses in using the Tech Cred office.
by Office Manager | Mar 13, 2023 | Business Expansion, Community, Events, Jobs
Gardens of Paulding under new ownership
Lionstone Care, an assisted living facility and skilled nursing care management company, assumed ownership of Gardens of Paulding on January 1, 2023. Advertising Director Natasha McIntire, who has been with Gardens of Paulding for two years, says the new owners want members of the community to know Gardens is no longer operating under Paragon Management, and are taking major strides to change the narrative.
Facility Administrator Deb Sawyer, who has been at Gardens since March 2022, says she is “quite excited” about the takeover, saying that “Lionstone Care does seem to really, truly care.”
Several changes have occurred in recent months at the facility. Since October 2022, the facility added 11 nurses to its staff. Sawyer spoke highly of her staff and of the recruiting process saying, “If we need assistance, they [Lionstone] will help in the recruiting, but right now it’s basically at the facility level. We are extremely lucky in the fact that we have done some major recruiting ourselves.”
Another change implemented by Lionstone, that facility employees appreciate and benefit from, is taking the admission processes out of the hands of facility employees. This has allowed the staff to focus on the needs and preparations of incoming residents. “That seems to be a thing with this company; they don’t want us to have to be on conference calls or doing tons of paperwork. Let’s be out. Let’s be with the residents.”
Sawyer is committed to her work and to the lives of her residents and has lived in Paulding her whole life. “This building is very special to me, I want to see it succeed. I want us to be the place that, if needed, it’s where you want to come, especially if you’re from Paulding. I want them to feel like, ‘I’m going to my hometown nursing home because I’m treated like family and they do care.’”
A couple of residents recently moved from a sister facility owned by the previous company and expressed to Sawyer how much they like the “home atmosphere,” saying her staff was “so nice and so sweet and caring,” which Sawyer attributes to living small-town life in Paulding.
Residents are also “very excited” now that they’re out of some of the covid restrictions. Eating out in the dining room, encouraging visitation and group activities has all returned. Volunteer programs also took a hit during covid, and Sawyer is pleased to report that they’re finally able to start bringing volunteers back.
“It’s a gorgeous building, very active with multiple activities,” says McIntire, who wants the Gardens to get more integrated into the community to increase their presence.
There will be an Open House with light refreshments at the Gardens of Paulding on Thursday, March 23 from 5 – 7 p.m. The management team will be there to meet, introduce, give tours and answer any questions.
The Gardens of Paulding is located at 199 Rd 103, Paulding, OH. For more information, call (419) 399-4940.
by Office Manager | Feb 28, 2023 | Community, Events, Funding, PCED Office
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release February 26, 2023
MVPO facilitates Antwerp community SWOT meeting
ANTWERP – The Antwerp community recently participated in a Strengths,Weaknesses ,Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis with public input from village officials and community organization partners and residents. 32 guests participated in the public event, held at the Antwerp VFW community room. The collaborative event was hosted by the Paulding County Economic Development office and Antwerp Planning and Zoning Commission, and facilitated by Estee Miller with Maumee Valley Planning Organization (MVPO).
Miller noted, “Conducting SWOT analyses allow us to gain an understanding of the needs of a community and how we (MVPO) can leverage strengths and opportunities to meet those needs.”
The Antwerp community is blessed with many organizations and groups that provide: government oversite, community fundraising and input, not-for-profit facilitation, and philanthropic input throughout the year. Several of the noted groups that participated included: Antwerp Village Council, Carryall Township, Antwerp Chamber of Commerce, Antwerp Community Development Corporation (ACDC), Antwerp Rotary, Antwerp Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) and the Antwerp Planning and Zoning Commission.
Economic Development Director Tim Copsey set the stage, opening the meeting by explaining how the meeting came about: “While attending meetings with all of the Antwerp organizations, it was clear that each group has a goal or mission in mind to better the community. There just didn’t seem to be a clear interweaving of information or definition that each group was aware, or understood the goals of the other groups. This sharing of communication allows for all groups and community residents to collectively participate, and share, what each believes would be the pertinent pieces for a SWOT analysis”.
MVPO will take the data that was shared and gathered, and will develop a community survey. The survey data will guide MVPO, and the village, when future grants become available. Having data already collected saves time when grant application timelines are short.
This event follows similar events held around Paulding County. MVPO facilitated a similar event recently in the Village of Oakwood and the Village of Latty hosted their own independent analysis.
The Antwerp Planning and Zoning Commission also held a brief business meeting during the event and shared several zoning maps in hope of receiving feedback for future thoughts in regard to the traffic thoroughfare in the community.
Learn more about the Village of Antwerp www.villageofantwerp.com and for more information about Maumee Valley Planning Organization and their grant writing for Paulding, Defiance, Fulton, Henry, or Williams County contact them at 419-784-3882
by Office Manager | Feb 8, 2023 | Community, Events, Jobs, PCED Office, Workforce
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release February 7, 2022
Career Day to be held April 4th 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
PAULDING, OH – The Paulding County Economic Development office is hosting the Annual Career Day on Tuesday, April 4th, from 8:00 am- 12:00 pm. The event is located at the Paulding County OSU Extension Building located at 503 Fairground Dr. Paulding, OH 45879. Public is welcome to attend. High School Students from Antwerp, Paulding, Wayne Trace and Vantage Career Center, will be bussed in to meet and learn more about the businesses, colleges and non-profits in attendance.
“Last year we had a great turnout with over 40 businesses attend, we are hoping for another great event and encourage business looking for help to contact us for more information about attending this year’s event.” noted Paulding County Economic Development Office Manager, Kristen Schilt.
You can find out more about Paulding County Economic Development events and programs online at www.pced.net; on Facebook at Paulding County Economic Development; or email Kristen Schilt, Office Manager at office@pced.net.
