Chamber plans to showcase Valley during GOP convention in Cleveland

YOUNGSTOWN

Five months from now, the Mahoning Valley will have an opportunity unlike any other.

Thousands of journalists, business people and political notables will be coming to Cleveland – just 75 miles from Youngstown – for the Republican National Convention.

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber has preparations underway to showcase the area’s assets by bringing site selectors here.

“We will host the first-ever site-selector familiarization tour,” said Guy Coviello, the chamber’s vice president of government affairs. “This provides us with a once-in-a-lifetime attraction to do this.”

Since it was announced that Cleveland would host the convention, the chamber has looked into how to capitalize on the four-day event July 18-21.

David Myhal, a consultant who is the head of 316 Group of Columbus, was brought on to assist the chamber in showcasing the Valley.

The plan, called “Victory for the Valley,” is to bring in site selectors from large industrial and commercial real-estate firms to show them the economic-development assets in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Area businesses will act as “ambassadors” for the area to the site selectors and journalists from around the world interested in the Valley’s story.

The site selectors will stay in the Valley with expenses covered by the chamber, with local businesses helping to cover the cost.

Read more about the plan in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.