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What’s a port authority? Since many people don’t know, local entity seeks new identity
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
What are the best words to describe the area where we live so people using Internet search engines can find us?
Is it Mahoning Valley? Youngstown-Warren? Northeast Ohio? Eastern Ohio? Western Reserve?
That was the topic of discussion Wednesday among several influential business leaders at a meeting of the Western Reserve Port Authority’s Economic Development Committee.
The committee heard a presentation from local marketing executive George Farris, who recently worked with Anthony Trevena, the authority’s economic-development director, and his team to craft marketing concepts to present to the authority’s board of directors.
The board hired Farris to help the economic-development team “brand” itself so business and nonprofit leaders will know to contact them when they need a loan or other financial tools to help them grow.
The economic-development team started out as one person, Rose Ann DeLeon, in 2009, but has grown in the past year to include Trevena and two other full-time employees. DeLeon died last March.
The team has done financing and other projects for Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Vallourec Star and Youngstown State University, among others.
Among the tools used to create jobs are tax-exempt and taxable bonds at a fixed rate up to 25 years and tax-increment financing that allows future tax revenue on a new or expanded business to be used for infrastructure improvements.
Farris, Trevena and staff members Sarah Lown and Nick Coggins are suggesting this name for the team: NorthEast Ohio Finance Authority, which would produce the acronym NEOFA. That would be paired on marketing materials with the words “A division of the Western Reserve Port Authority.”
The four committee members – Covelli Enterprise CEO Sam Covelli, Avalon Holdings CEO Ron Klingle, MS Consultants Vice President David Mosure and union leader Marty Loney – offered opinions and alternative ideas.
Farris said “NorthEast Ohio” was chosen because someone “looking for a loan” will use a search engine such as Google and a geographical phrase.
Lown added that using “Western Reserve” might hinder Columbiana County entities from becoming clients, because the Connecticut Western Reserve stops at Western Reserve Road in Mahoning County.
Klingle suggested use of Mahoning Valley and Ohio Finance Agency (OFA) since shorter acronyms are better. Mosure said he likes Western Reserve.
Trevena said he and Farris would work on additional ideas before delivering a similar presentation to the full board at its meeting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the authority’s Youngstown office, 240 N. Champion St.