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Three honored at chamber meeting
By Kalea Hall
BOARDMAN
A military leader, a businessman and a politician share a commonality: They support the Mahoning Valley.
That’s why each of them received an award from the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber on Wednesday during the chamber’s annual meeting at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman.
Col. James Dignan, commander of the 910th Airlift Wing in Vienna, received the Spirit of the Valley Award; Doug Sweeney, president of Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, received Spirit of the Chamber Award; and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, received the chairwoman’s political achievement award.
“I am up here because of the great people at the air force base,” Dignan said.
Dignan, who has been the commander at the base since March 2013, discussed the need to make people more aware of it.
“Our base needs to be integrated with the Valley,” he said at Wednesday’s meeting.
During his speech, Sweeney credited much of his Boardman dealership’s success to the workers at the Lordstown General Motors Assembly Plant where the Chevrolet Cruze is built. The location of the plant, where 4,5000 are employed, leads to GM-brand loyalty here.
“The market share in this area is truly one of the best for GM because of that relationship,” Sweeney said.
Portman loves the Valley because of the people here who “roll up their sleeves” and get involved.
“It’s a community that has a lot going on,” he said.
But Portman did mention local challenges including drug addiction, which is affecting both large and small businesses that have difficulty in finding drug-free employees.
Portman also discussed the need for tax reform and the amount of permitting businesses have to go through that sets them back.
“We are a manufacturing Valley,” he said. “We have to be better for our manufacturers.”
Also at the meeting, the chamber presented its 2015 annual report that highlighted some of the 18 projects completed in 2015.
One of those projects includes the Matalco aluminum facility that is nearing completion inside the Ohio Commerce Center in Lordstown. The facility is set to open in May. The Canada-based company invested $100 million to build the 225,000-square-foot facility. The investment brings 60 to 80 jobs to the area.