by Office Manager | May 1, 2024 | Community, Jobs, PCED Office, Workforce
Paulding, OH – Paulding High School proudly announces the successful completion of its after-school certification program in welding. The program, in its 3rd year of completion, is in collaboration with Northwest State Community College (NSCC) and allows students to gain skills and certifications including Welding, OHSA-10, LEAN Six Sigma, and Blueprint Reading.
Leading this initiative were Staci Miller, Paulding High School’s FFA Advisor, and Thomas Zuber, owner and operator of Zuber Welding and Fabrication. Their dedication and expertise were instrumental in guiding students through the class, preparing them for promising careers in welding or other hands-on skilled trades they would pursue.
“I have truly enjoyed co teaching with Thomas Zuber as we taught these students the basics of welding and blueprint reading and helping them to prepare for their futures by assisting with their resume and interviewing skills. This group of students have amazing potential and any employer would be lucky to have them. It shows true dedication for these students to want to stay after school to learn a skill like welding. We are so proud of each of them.” shared Miller.
Over the course of 13 weeks, students engaged in a mix of hands-on training, book work, interview skills and business tours at North American Stamping and Mansfield Welding. Under the guidance of Miller and Zuber, alongside partners Tiffany Rockhold with OhioMeansJobs and Tim Copsey and Kristen Schilt with Paulding County Economic Development, students gained experience and knowledge, totaling 50 hours of instruction outside of their regular school day and extracurriculars.
Reflecting on the experience, one student shared, “This welding class provided me with the basic skills to weld and read blueprints that could provide me with future employment while doing it in a fun and hands-on setting with our instructors. I gained many new skills and welding techniques as well as different welding methods. I would recommend the class to others in the future.”
The program graduates and their families celebrated their dedication and accomplishments last Thursday. Program graduates were Drake Ankney, Matthew Bail, Jesus Estrada, Giovanni Linares, Jonathan Lipps, and Samuel Reinhard.
Paulding High School remains committed to innovation and excellence in education, empowering students with the skills and certifications necessary to thrive in today’s workforce environment.
For more information about future workforce initiatives, Paulding High School’s welding program, or other opportunities here or around the county, please contact Paulding County Economic Development at 419-399-8282.
by Office Manager | Apr 29, 2024 | Community, Jobs, Membership, Workforce
Fremont, OH – The Paulding County Business Advisory Council (BAC) proudly announces its recent recognition for excellence, attaining a 2-star rating during a ceremony held on Friday at Terra State by Ohio College TechPrep.
In compliance with state regulation, all Ohio school districts and Educational Service Centers (ESC) are required to establish a Business Advisory Council. Ohio has over 110 councils, among which is the Paulding County Western Buckeye ESC BAC.
Members Tiffany Rockhold (OhioMeansJobs), Kim Wannemacher (Paulding County Hospital), Fahyth Griner (Haviland Drainage Company), and Kristen Schilt (Paulding County Economic Development) accepted the excellence award on behalf of the council. Their unwavering dedication has played a great role in shaping the BAC’s success.
Additionally, at the award ceremony, Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) Director Tim Copsey was honored with the 2024 Economic Development Partner of the Year Award for his exceptional collaboration contributions to the educational and business partners, the BAC and the overall community.
Established in 2021, the Paulding County BAC is committed to enhancing educational opportunities and fostering relationships between education and local businesses. Through quarterly meetings, the council facilitates collaboration between leaders in these sectors, creating learning experiences and preparing a skilled workforce. The council consists of businesses from different industries, including: manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, service sectors, as well as representatives from our three local school districts, Vantage Career Center, and regional colleges.
“Our BAC is dedicated to continually improving to benefit our students and local businesses,” shared Kristen Schilt Office Manager for PCED. “We are glad to be recognized as a ranked business advisory council this year. We know there are still workforce needs that need addressed in our community and our BAC will continue to work together to understand how collectively we can narrow those gaps.”
Partnerships between local schools and industries have resulted in initiatives such as: enhancing the annual spring career expo, teacher boot camp, Paulding HS welding program, Paulding HS construction program, Panthers for Career partnerships, Archer Advantage program, Antwerp Innovation and Aquaponics Center and the new Wayne Trace STEAM center. These initiatives not only enrich the learning experience for students but also help establish a skilled workforce tailored to the needs of the local economy.
As the Paulding County BAC looks to the future, it remains committed to fostering innovation, collaboration, and excellence in education and workforce development.
For more information about the Paulding County Business Advisory Council and its initiatives or to join an upcoming meeting, please contact Paulding County Economic Development at 419-399-8295.
BAC Members Pictured Left to Right:
Tiffany Rockhold, OhioMeansJobs Defiance/Paulding Counties, Kim Wannemacher, Paulding County Hospital, Kristen Schilt, Paulding County Economic Development, Fahyth Griner, Haviland Companies
by Isabella Carwile | Apr 19, 2024 | Business Expansion, Community, Jobs
CHARLOE – The Charloe Sno-Cone, located at 10768 Rd 171, has recently changed ownership. Daniel and Dimare Dunlap have purchased the building and business and hope to grow the business. They have also named Cannina Lewis as the Operations Manager for the facility.
The business had a soft opening over Easter weekend. The goal for the future business schedule is to be open seven days a week ASAP along with adding a morning shift for coffee and pastries. Current hours are Thursday thru Sunday from 11 am-8 pm. There will be additional days slowly added with the intention of being open seven days a week by peak boating season. The new owners intend to stay open year-round and utilize the indoor seating, likely shutting down the soft serve ice cream operation in the off-season, but keeping the hard dip flavors and full-service kitchen options available.
The Sno-Cone will offer a full food menu this year and pretty much every ice cream you could imagine, including hard dip, soft serve, slushes, and bringing back the actual Sno-Cone!
Dunlap grew up in the area of the Auglaize River. His background is in real estate investing and construction. He is also the owner of Four County Home Inspections, Code 3 Properties, LLC, and Flat Rock Real Estate Corporation. He was previously an EMT, paramedic, and firefighter. Once he married Dimare, they chose to live on the river and enjoy it all the time. Dan stated, “I grew up as a kid eating at the Sno-Cone on weekends and enjoying the delicious ice cream. Now we have the privilege of owning the establishment and sharing it with others.”
In connecting with the history of the business, the Dinmares brought back the original signage with the Native American logo. This sign was painted by a local artist to represent the history of the unincorporated village, which was named after Chief Charloe Peter in 1839.
In developing into the future, the Dunlap’s hope to bring pizza to the menu and obtaining a liquor license for the sale of beer and wine, along with wine slushes and other refreshments. They are currently repairing the large deck looking over the river. It should be open soon. They are also adding three brand new docks in the water to accommodate passing boaters who would like to visit from the river.
The menu options and pricing have changed to better serve the community. The end goal is to provide the best service at the best pricing. This decision is supported by stopping the automatic tips added to orders. This will allow customers to tip at their own discretion. You can call the business for more information at 419-594-3594 or find the business on Facebook or order online at charloesnocone.com
If you would like to enjoy some savory deliciousness from the Charloe Sno-Cone and experience a beautiful river view, support local and give the new team a try.
by Isabella Carwile | Mar 27, 2024 | Community, Events, Jobs, PCED Office
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release
PAULDING – The Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office will host a Business, Industry, & College Expo Showcase event on April 3 at the Extension Building on the Paulding County Fairgrounds. The event will bring junior and senior students from all three Paulding County high schools in addition to Continental High School to learn about, meet and discuss future opportunities with area colleges and businesses.
“This event continues to evolve each year, last year we saw the addition of hands-on activities which helped lead into more student and employer discussions. We understand our students are at different stages in their future job and education journey, so the goal of the expo is to showcases the different opportunities in our area. We’re excited too that Vantage Career Center has funded access to a career assessment platform called You Science, allowing students to seek out careers and colleges that suit their strengths found from their assessment. It’s our first time trying this, and we’re excited to see how it goes.” stated Economic Development Office Manager Kristen Schilt.
The event will run from 8am-12noon with students arriving at the top of each hour. Paulding County Vantage Career Center students 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 exhibitors to help start conversation. Each student is encouraged to talk to a minimum of 10 businesses and have the business sign their passport. Completed passports will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gas gift card, one winner per school will be drawn. The gift cards are sponsored by C&Y Oil Company and National Gas & Oil.
This event has grown over the years. This year there are a total of 52 entities that have sent an RSVP for the event, with many having interactive and hands-on activities for students to engage with. For questions about the event contact the PCED office at 419-399-8295.
by Isabella Carwile | Mar 19, 2024 | Business Expansion, Community, Jobs, New Business, PCED Office
Paulding County Economic Development Press Release 3/19/2023
PAULDING – The Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) Board toured the Small Business Innovation Center (SBIC) during their March meeting.
The SBIC is a building located at 103 E. Perry Street in Paulding on the square, that is owned by the Paulding County Commissioners. The building hosts the county Election Board offices on the first floor at 105 E. Perry. The 103 E. Perry side, has offices available for rent on the first floor, and several office and conference room spaces available upstairs (103 ½ E. Perry). These offices are over both first-floor business spaces and offer a spectacular second story view of the courthouse. These offices are managed by the PCED office.
“There are three new members on the PCED Board of Directors this year. We thought it would be fitting to let them see what our office manages, but it also allowed some of our established members the opportunity to see the latest improvements and changes the offices have been through lately,” stated Tim Copsey PCED Director. “Our hope is to get the word out to folks working from home that the county does have a shared working space facility if they needed to host a meeting or just find a remote spot to work from occasionally.”
This space was developed back in 2018 to allow new businesses, researching the village or county, an option to test foot traffic before buying a brick-and-mortar facility. It has allowed many businesses to start and grow, or falter, before a lot of investment is made. One of the recent successes was Ag Credit. They started in this space before moving into their facility at 839 N. Williams Street in Paulding. Another success was having a place for Union Bank to open their Paulding branch, immediately upon deciding to come to Paulding, while the building they purchased for rehabilitation was remodeled.
Other businesses tested the water and weren’t as successful. Brown & Brown, a Toledo attorney group, rented space for a while before deciding they could do their services from Toledo. More recently, Family First Jail Bondsman rented office to see if a Paulding address would be beneficial for more business, but ultimately decided it was not. Currently there is one ground level floor office available for rent open and three upstairs offices available ($250/month upstairs).
Both upstairs and downstairs offices offer a kitchenette, restrooms, and have conference room available. The tours were to show, and remind, board members of the opportunities available for shared office space. The spaces can also be rented by the hour.
The regular business agenda followed including:
- Received updates from the Director for projects taking place around the county
- Accepting PCED By-law changes presented at January meeting for review
- Accepting Financial reports presented by Treasurer Jeff Mumma and Financial Committee
- Heard committee reports as presented
- Heard from each member in regard to the business sector they represent per PCED by-laws
The board will meet again in a regular meeting on Tuesday, May 14, 2024
by Office Manager | Mar 13, 2024 | Community, Events, Jobs, Workforce
ANTWERP, OH – The Paulding County Business Advisory Council (BAC) met at Antwerp Manor Assisted Living facility on Wednesday, March 6th, headed by Tim Copsey, Paulding County Economic Development Director to discuss initiatives focused on collaboration between local businesses and schools for the betterment of Paulding County. The meeting kicked off with a welcome and introduction of 22 attendees, including Lu Cooke, Northwest Regional Liaison Lt. Governor’s Office, and Mike Weible, Paulding County Commissioner.
Key agenda highlights included:
Mission Statement Update: Tom Taylor of Western Buckeye ESC and Tim Copsey, PCED Director, spearheaded efforts to refine the BAC Mission Statement for submission to the state. The goal is to ensure collaboration with the steering committee in shaping the business advisory council’s future direction.
Spring SuccessBound Event: Rhonda Hogrefe of Northwest Ohio College TechPrep invited BAC members to the upcoming Spring SuccessBound event at Terra State on April 26th. The event will facilitate discussions and strategies for education and workforce.
Paulding County Career Expo: Kristen Schilt shared details about the upcoming Paulding County Career Expo, highlighting opportunities for businesses to engage with students. Interested businesses are encouraged to reach out for participation.
Teacher Bootcamp: Lu Cooke announced Teacher Bootcamp funding was available again from the state. They recognize the importance of this program and advocated for it. Paulding County Teacher Bootcamp is scheduled for June 3-6 & 13th. The event, in collaboration with Ashland University, offers educators and businesses a way to connect and learn from each other all while earning continuing education credit.
Education Updates:
- Wayne Trace Junior/Senior High School received a $2.4 million grant from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to enhance STEAM programs and facilities.
- Paulding High School is organizing a community clean-up day on April 29th, providing students with opportunities for community service and engagement. In addition to an update on the Panthers for Careers program.
- Antwerp High School is launching an Archer Career Advantage Program this fall to expose seniors to career exploration opportunities.
- Vantage Career Center is experiencing record-high applications. There is also a need for adult education instructors.
- Northwest State Community College shared an update on the new Van Wert campus.
The meeting also addressed topics such as Ohio TechCred sign-ups, the need for residential housing, and discussions around other career development initiatives.
The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for June 8th at Mercer Landmark Latty. For more information about the Paulding County Business Advisory Council please reach out to the economic development office at 419-399-8295 or office@pced.net.
