New Paulding County Business Back Wall Archery opens

New Paulding County Business Back Wall Archery opens

Paulding County Economic Development Press Release                                 February 14, 2024

New Paulding County Business Back Wall Archery opens 

DEFIANCE – A new full-service archery sales and repair service facility has opened for business.

Back Wall Archery, owned by Thomas Cameron, established business located in Paulding County at County Road 171, Defiance, Ohio 43512, in Ohio on September 20, 2023 and opened up the shop on November 27.

Cameron had been working on his own, his family and some friend’s equipment for a couple years.  During that time, he continued to develop a greater love for archery and working on the related equipment.  The more he worked, the more those he helped encouraged him to go out on his own.  “For years I’ve had the love for archery and loved working on my own bow. I wanted to provide the community with great service, along with fast service, for their archery equipment,” Cameron stated.

With the company now certified in the State of Ohio, Cameron is hoping to work with archers in the region that shoot compound or crossbows.  In addition to providing archery equipment, arrows and accessories, Back Wall Archery is able to provide fletching repair on arrows along with strings and cables on bows.

The company originally reached out to the Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office for guidance of how to begin.  The office recommended a meeting with Lisa Becher, NW Ohio representative for Ohio Small Business Development.  Using the information provided through those meetings and discussions, the business established and Cameron was able to turn back to the PCED office for additional help.

“Working with Thomas has been great as he dives into his business journey! We tackled his initial hurdles head-on by securing a small business loan and getting him enrolled in our marketing program. These resources, made possible through our collaboration with OhioMeansJobs and the Paulding County Area Foundation, are just some of the ways we’re able to help our local businesses.” shared Kristen Schilt PCED Office Manager.

For questions about the business, inquiries and business hours, contact Cameron at 419-438-6870,  backwall.archery@gmail.com or check out Back Wall Archery on Facebook.

Business, Industry and College Expo to be held Wednesday April 3rd

Business, Industry and College Expo to be held Wednesday April 3rd

PAULDING, OH – The Paulding County Economic Development office is hosting the Annual Business, Industry & College Expo on Wednesday, April 3rd 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 attend to meet and learn more about the businesses, colleges and non-profits in attendance.

“Last year we had a great turnout of 44 businesses! We were impressed with the engaging hands-on activities some of the businesses had and look forward to more creativity this year. The overall goal for this event is to build awareness for the opportunities in our area. As always, we want to make the event better each year. Since last year we’ve met with our school leaders and came up with some tweaks to make the event more impactful for everyone involved.” 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.

RGP presents JobsOhio Inclusion Grant to Paulding County

RGP presents JobsOhio Inclusion Grant to Paulding County

Paulding County Economic Development Press Release                                   January 18, 2024

RGP presents JobsOhio Inclusion Grant to Paulding County

PAULDING – Jessica Sattler, with the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP), recently came to Paulding County to present to local small business owners and leaders about an available business grant opportunity.  The JobsOhio Inclusion Grant (JOIG) is available to businesses located in the zip codes of Broughton, Cecil, Oakwood and Paulding villages.  In addition, the grant is available to female, veteran, disabled or minority owned businesses throughout the county.  Fifteen businesses were represented at the meeting by 16 individuals.

The RGP team is the NW Ohio arm of JobsOhio.  They help oversee 17 counties in northwest Ohio, including Paulding County, in economic development projects and grant opportunities.  With the JOIG opportunity, businesses that are over a year old and provide business to business services with at least $100,000 in annual revenue (but not over $25 million) are eligible to receive a $25,000 reimbursable grant.  An additional $25,000 is available to female, veteran, disabled or minority owned businesses that are located in the above-mentioned zip codes.  There is a requirement of increasing full time employment, within your business by 10%, over the next three years.  A business that has 10 or less employees would only need to increase by one full-time equivalent.  Last year Paulding County had two qualified businesses that applied and both received this reimbursable $25,000 grant.

The event was hosted at the Paulding Eagles and organized by the Paulding County Economic Development office, in conjunction with RGP and the Paulding & Defiance OhioMeansJobs office.  OMJ Workforce Supervisor Tiffany Rockhold shared several business partnership opportunities with attendees to make sure they were aware of the many options available through the OMJ office.

“The attendance of this event far exceeded what we expected, which shows that our business leaders are engaged and paying attention to opportunities our office is sharing,” stated Economic Development Director Tim Copsey.  “The questions and discussions that evolved out of this meeting to both Jessica and Tiffany were informative.  It’s great to see so many business leaders participating and thinking outside the box.  We are now using the knowledge that we gained from this presentation to reach out and meet with other business owners that weren’t able to attend and share in this opportunity”.

If an Ohio business would like to learn more about this grant opportunity and qualifications, please reach out to your local economic development office for more information.

PCED Transition to OhioMeansJobs Job Portal for Job Seekers and Employers

PCED Transition to OhioMeansJobs Job Portal for Job Seekers and Employers

In its ongoing commitment to foster economic growth and connect job seekers with opportunities, the Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office has recently transitioned to recommending the use of OhioMeansJobs’ (OMJ) exceptional job portal, for both job seekers and employers.

For a few years, PCED maintained a job list on its website (www.pced.net), providing a valuable resource for local job seekers. However, with the dynamic nature of the job market, including filled positions, new job opportunities, and high turnover rates, it became challenging to ensure the accuracy of the list.

Seeing the need for a more up-to-date platform, PCED is now encouraging the community to utilize OhioMeansJobs’ (https://ohiomeansjobs.ohio.gov/) job portal that offers a comprehensive and accurate representation of the local job market. Our local OhioMeansJobs office, is located at 252 Dooley Dr. Paulding, OH 45879.

Here are some additional offerings that employers should take advantage of through OMJ:

  1. Pre-hire Testing: OMJ streamlines hiring for employers with cost-saving candidate assessments, ensuring a thorough evaluation before hiring decisions.
  2. Top of Form
  3. Offset Cost for New Hires: Recognizing the financial challenges of hiring new employees, OMJ supports employers by offsetting costs, covering six months of wages for new hires.*
  4. Resume Building: The office offers assistance in resume building, helping job seekers present their skills and experiences effectively to potential employers. *

*Individuals must qualify for service. OhioMeansJobs will conduct an evaluation to determine eligibility.

PCED is committed to supporting the local workforce and enhancing employment in Paulding County. By using the features of OMJ, job seekers and employers can benefit from a more streamlined and accurate job matching process.

For more information or to connect with OMJ workforce supervisor and career coaches, visit the OhioMeansJobs office at 252 Dooley Dr. Or, you can contact Paulding County Economic Development at 419-399-8295 to get connected and take the step towards advancing your career or finding the right talent for your business.

PCED Board closes out 2023 strong

PCED Board closes out 2023 strong

PAULDING – The Paulding County Economic Development Board of Directors recently held their final meeting of 2023.  The lunch meeting was a culmination of what was a very strong business year in the county including a reported $95,559,296  in new capital investment in the county.

The main topic of discussion was the upcoming changes within the board.  Two of the board members, Paulding Mayor Greg White, representing the Paulding County Mayors Association, and Bud Koenig, representing the Paulding County Planning Commission, had their respective terms expire.  Both indicated they will not renew their terms to allow the opportunity for new members to participate on the board.  The board of directors will be setting up interviews for the open positions very soon.

The board was presented minor changes to the business by-laws by the Governance Committee.  The recommended changes will be reviewed by individual board members and voted on at the 2024 reorganizational meeting on January 9.  Also presented for review was the proposed budget and meeting dates and times for 2024.  The board will together be reviewing and updating the office strategic plan after the first of the year.

2024 membership investment information has been distributed.  The board would like to thank all that have invested into PCED office in the past and look forward to serving Paulding County and the region in the future.

Board members around the room each presented updates for the entities they represent.  This created great business dialog.  The roundtable discussion ends each board meeting and allows opportunity for members to learn about other entities and local business within the county.

Q4 Zoning Inspector Meeting

Paulding County Zoning Inspector Meeting                                                 December 7, 2023

PAULDING – The fourth quarter and final Paulding County Zoning Inspector meeting was hosted recently at the Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office.  Sarah McCabe from the Paulding County Auditor office shared 2023 permit reports with inspectors present from their respective townships and villages.

PCED Director Tim Copsey provided updates on land bank projects and informed the group about where the land bank stands on Ohio Department of Development funding and how funds remaining from the previous round are being allocated.  There is a growing list of structures being accumulated now for the next round of funding.  Applications for this funding will be due April 1, 2024.

Copsey also shared that as blight is being removed and properties are being remediated, there is also an opportunity for the land bank to purchase these open lots with the purpose of selling to residential builders for building new speculative homes.  As these opportunities transpire, it is important for the zoning inspectors to have accurate zoning information available and be involved early in the building discussions.

McCabe then closed out the meeting showing the Paulding County Auditor GIS website and sharing information about how to navigate the site along with helpful hints in finding the critical information in research.

The 2024 first quarter meeting will be held on March 14 at 6 pm at the PCED office.