By: Emily Dammeyer, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

​Over the course of three days during our membership event, we welcomed 324 new members to the Chamber. It was a marathon event, with short shift sprints scattered throughout each day. This type of event wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated and energetic commitment of our volunteers. More than 300 community leaders came together to share our message and mission.
Our theme for the event was “All In”, inspired by the DC Marvel comic strip The Justice League. Dressed in capes, staff greeted all four shifts with a cheer and a high five. You can see on Facebook and Twitter how our volunteers embraced the energy and had a lot of fun with the event. It was their passion and excitement that gave us so many introductions to new members.

Why did 300+ businesses become members in two days? For two reasons – first, because of our awesome volunteers, and second, because they believe in the work that we do. As a Chamber, with more than 2,000 businesses, we recognize the importance of economic development to moving the region forward. We are committed to lobbying for business, creating opportunities for jobs and workforce development, and recruiting a talented workforce to the area. ​Thank you to everyone who volunteered to make this event a success.

​Superior Uniform Sales is celebrating 35 years of supplying quality uniform apparel to public and private sector organizations. From outfitting the Oregon Police Department and Buckeye Broadband’s service personnel to customized shirts for the popular Columbus, OH breakfast spot Hangover Easy, this family-owned business is taking the uniform world by storm.
 
Now in their fourth generation of family leadership, Superior Uniform Sales is proud to say that their employees have a long tenure with the company, some having worked there for more than 25 years. With roots dating back to 1902, Superior Uniform Sales officially opened for business in 1983 when the family’s industrial laundry business, Superior Overall Laundry Co., acquired the Toledo-based Giha’s Uniforms. Initially operated by Bill Darah Jr. and his cousin Louis Darah, less than a decade later the industrial laundry business was sold and Bill and Louis focused solely on the direct sale business.

​TRCC ALL IN will be the phrase celebrated this week by our staff and member volunteers. We are hosting a two-day Membership Campaign with the DC Comic inspired theme of ALL IN. More than 300 volunteers will come together at campaign headquarters over the course of two days to bring in new members to the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce. A huge thanks to the leadership and employees of Buckeye Broadband for hosting us and providing the technology to make this event a success.

The goal of the campaign is to bring our existing members together in a fun, collaborative and competitive atmosphere, while sharing the Chamber story with the region at large. It will create community awareness of the important role of the Toledo Chamber and our mission to connect business with resources and opportunities; advocate for a thriving business environment and lead the charge to promote the assets of the region. 

Please note: Our staff will be off-site at Campaign Headquarters Tuesday, August 28th and Wednesday, August 29th. Chamber offices will be CLOSED for the duration of the event, and reopen at 8:30 am, Thursday, August 30th. For more information about membership or the campaign, please contact Eric Stockard, VP for Membership at the Chamber at 419.344.9626.
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This is the first volunteer driven membership drive the Chamber has embarked on in more than a decade. Sixteen community leaders have stepped-up and agreed to be event Chairs and provide a team. “The response from the business community for this effort has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Wendy Gramza, President and CEO of the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce. “This is the perfect time to engage our volunteers to help us share the message of the work the Chamber is doing to move our region forward.”

​Contacts: 
Jessica McClellan, Practice Growth Manager                                              
mcclellan@wvco.com
419.891.1040                                                 
 
(August 27, 2018) – Locally recognized accounting and advisory firm William Vaughan Company is pleased to announce being named one of INSIDE Public Accounting’s (IPA) Best of the Best Firms for the fourth consecutive year in a row.
 
“We are extremely honored to be named an IPA Best of the Best firm for another year,” said Aaron Swiggum, Managing Partner. “Our firm is growing strategically across all industry sectors to respond to the needs of our clients. I think this honor speaks to the level of skill, talent and hard work of our professionals, as well as the legacy of the firm.”
 
IPA’s annual Best of the Best recognition honors CPA firms across the country for their superior financial and operational performance based on more than 70 criteria. The selections were based on responses from more than 550 firms that participated in this year’s IPA Survey and Analysis of Firms.

Our largest event of the year was a huge success. 700 members enjoyed an atmosphere that can’t be beat and feasted on a buffet full of lobster, clams, mussels and shrimp, followed by chocolate pot de crème and crème brulee.
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Why Clambake? Beyond the great food, Clambake is an opportunity for us to host a mission focused event and reach a significant portion of our members in one evening. Not only does the event allow us to connect business leaders with one another, we get to promote many of the great assets of the region including the Casino, Maumee River and showcase the delicious culinary skills in our community.

Founded by Tom Schaeffer in 2015, Black Cloister Brewing Company (BCBC) is conveniently located on the northwest corner of the Warehouse District in downtown Toledo. Located in the historic Hannons Block building, the brick archways and unique features are original to the 142 year old building.
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There is rich history throughout the brewery, packed right into their name “Black Cloister.” As a Lutheran Pastor, Schaeffer wanted to pay tribute to his roots and Martin Luther, father of the modern day Protestant Church, originally studied at Black Cloister in Germany in the 16th century.

​​The Air Force Reserve is delighted to announce the opening of a recruiting office in Toledo, OH.  It is located in the Jesse James Complex at 559 S. Reynolds Rd, Toledo OH 43616.  The Air Force Reserve provides a way to expand experiences and serve your country while being able to choose where you live and work. The unique location of the Toledo Office provides members the ability to choose between Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Youngstown Air Reserve Base or Grissom Air Force Base. 

​Computerworld released their “Best Places to Work in IT” and Owens Corning hit #2 on the list for the second consecutive year, jumping from #47 where they initially appeared five years ago. We had a chance to sit down with Annie Baymiller, Director in Owens Corning’s Global Information Services organization and Ty Paris, Early Career Specialist to talk about the initiatives that are helping guide their culture.

​(Chicago, IL) – ProMedica Corporate Headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, has earned national recognition in the 2018 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program (IDEAS2). In honor of this achievement, members of the project team were presented with awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) during a ceremony that took place at the building on Monday, June 25, at 1 p.m. ET.

In recognition of its particular accomplishments in adaptive reuse, the project has been selected to receive the IDEAS2 Award’s Presidential Award of Excellence for Adaptive Reuse, the only project in the competition to be so honored.

By: Jack Martin, PD&B Inc.

Founded: 1998
Location: 5949 American Road East, Toledo
​GEO: North
​Websites: pdbinc.com | pdbcorrugated.com
 
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Ken Martin started Projects Designed and Built Inc. in 1998 out of his home with the help of a part time receptionist.  Prior to that, Mr. Martin was working for a Toledo-based distributor selling industrial power transmission components, and, it was there he came up with the idea of starting the business.  The idea came from an emerging trend he noticed while working with some of his large customers. Many of them began downsizing their engineering departments, outsourcing the design and build of new equipment and ultimately doing less ‘in house’ designing. That was the opportunity and the motivation for him to begin to design and build machinery that ultimately led to the business as it is today. It has been almost 20 years now and PD&B continues to be a trusted and reliable resource for their customers around the world.