YOUNGSTOWN Two top officials leave positions with local CIC

The chamber memo didn't explain why.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two top officials have left Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp.
Alden Chevlen, CIC executive director, and Gemma Sole, project manager, are no longer employed by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce, and therefore will no longer be fulfilling their functions at CIC, Reid Dulberger, chamber executive vice president, announced in a Wednesday memo to the CIC board of trustees.
As the chamber searches for a new staff, Dulberger said he and David Kosec, director of real estate development for the chamber's Lake-to-River Holding Co., will oversee CIC operations with the help of a temporary administrative assistant. The CIC has a contract with the chamber to operate the CIC's office.
Resignation: Dulberger's memo did not explain why Chevlen and Sole left. Dulberger said their departure is an internal chamber personnel issue, which he won't discuss publicly.
Chevlen said Dulberger told him in a recent review that he wasn't performing up to chamber expectations. He said Dulberger came to the CIC office Wednesday, asking him and Sole to sign resignations. Both did, Chevlen said.
Hiring: The CIC executive committee approved in March 2000 the chamber's hiring of Chevlen, then a Columbus lawyer, to replace William W. Cushwa Jr., who resigned in October 1999 to pursue other business development opportunities.
Chevlen, who was chosen from among 26 applicants, has many years of experience in the real estate field and was a staff lawyer for the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. from 1983 to 1990. He also worked for the CPA firms of Ernst & amp; Ernst in Cleveland and Hill, Barth & amp; King in Youngstown.
A 1969 graduate of Chaney High School, Chevlen graduated with honors from Case Western Reserve University with a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1973, receiving his law degree from Ohio State University in 1977.
Charles Sammarone, president of city council and the CIC, referred inquiries about the departures to the chamber. Sole could not be reached.
When he was hired for the CIC post, Chevlen said his goal was to help the city redevelop its downtown as an arts and entertainment district.