Warren, business execs join forces for new fund

WARREN — Two prominent Warren businessmen, Sam Covelli, chief executive officer of Covelli Enterprises, and Anthony Payiavlas, president and CEO of AVI Foodsystems Inc., are joining forces with Mayor Doug Franklin and the City of Warren, to create the Fund for Warren’s Future.

The purpose of the fund will be to initiate, promote and support economic development in the city.

The goals of the fund are: to encourage direct purchase of, or investment in, industrial, commercial and residential properties in the city; to encourage people to visit Warren; to promote and support the growth of entrepreneurial activity in Warren through educational programs and infrastructure development; to create a proactive culture in Warren.

The funds will be on deposit with, and managed by, the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley. Projects will be selected by a Board comprised of Covelli, Payiavlas and Franklin. Dennis Blank, a Warren resident and the publisher of Warren Expressed, will serve as the Board’s administrator.

Capitalization of the fund will be a two-step matching process; step-one will raise $100,000. $50,000 will be invested by the city of Warren; Payiavlas and Covelli have agreed to match the city’s investment with a $50,000 investment of private capital.