“It was an awesome opportunity for these students to learn more about Bundy and Rittal – good jobs available right here in Urbana. They were all shocked to learn that Bundy makes the pans for McDonalds & Subways’ buns and that Rittal manufactures the server enclosures for some of the world’s largest organizations,” explained Justin Weller, Executive Director for the Urbana Youth Center.
​

Sidney Marshall, a current 10th grade student at Urbana who went on the trip found it very valuable. “I thought the trip was really good. I learned that even if I’m not trained in an area, they are willing to train us. They seem very patient and excited to have us work for them. I hope to graduate and work for either Bundy or Rittal,” Marshall shared.

Rittal & Bundy have numerous part-time and full-time job opportunities available locally in manufacturing, coding, robotics, marketing, business, and more. Both employers want to make sure that students know they can find a good paying job locally.

Tom Coles, Vice President of Human Resources for Bundy explained, “Investing in the future workforce isn’t just a good business decision, it is a decision to help provide youth with the means to have a successful life. The Urbana Youth Center is exactly the type of positive, forward thinking that keeps communities strong and thriving. We were honored to participate in this excellent opportunity for students and look forward to our ongoing partnership with UYC.”

“Rittal believes that the community must invest in our youth. They are our future. We were thrilled to support this career trip and show students the extraordinary full-time and part-time opportunities that exist at Rittal. Our team is looking forward to our continued partnership to help the ongoing efforts at the youth center,” Tony Pearson, Human Resource Manager for Rittal, shared.

Ohio Hi-Point Career Center is a career-technical school district serving 14 partner schools in five counties, including Urbana City Schools. Hi-Point works to foster career opportunities for students right out of high school.

“What a fantastic experience for our students. Both Bundy and Rittal gave a great presentation and tour,” Christina Flowers, a Career-Based Intervention teacher for Hi-Point at Urbana High School shared. “Several students left excited about career possibilities for themselves after graduation. I can’t thank the youth center enough for the opportunity that they helped provide for our students. What a fantastic day!”

Don Klingler, Advanced Manufacturing Instructor for Hi-Point at Urbana High School and one of the teachers who participated in the trip said, “What a great opportunity for our students to learn about our local niche manufacturers and what careers they can provide.”

“When meeting and planning with Justin (Weller) and his staff this past summer, I was excited and encouraged to collaborate with the UYC along with our career based program classes here at UHS to provide opportunities for our students to explore career pathways in the community and receive information that can set them up for success post-graduation,” said Nate Sever, Principal at Urbana High School.

The Urbana Youth Center, a project of the GrandWorks Foundation, provides comprehensive youth services to reach, restore, and revive the community. Currently serving more than 500 student members in grades six through twelve, with open hearts, open minds, and open doors UYC educates students through respectful, honest, and open-minded programming – according to the organization’s mission.

“The goal of this trip was to expose local students to great, local career opportunities and that’s what we were able to do thanks to the great community partners who are investing in the future of our community. We really can’t thank them enough,” explained Weller.

“Yes, the youth center is about providing a safe place to hang out and participate in fun activities. That said, one of the main goals of those programs is to build trust with students so we can get them homework and study assistance to improve their grades, provide them food while at the youth center and meals they can take home, get them connected with social groups and support resources, teach them basic life skills, and educate them about the fantastic careers available here at home. That’s what we are doing. That’s what the youth center is all about,” Weller shared.

As a not-for-profit organization, the Urbana Youth Center relies on local donations and grants to operate. According to UYC, volunteers are essential to delivering the programming that makes the youth center a success. Those that want to donate or learn more about UYC can go to https://UrbanaYouthCenter.org or text the youth center at 937-772-4022.

From Urbana Daily Citizen

On Wednesday morning, Sutphen Corporation held an official groundbreaking celebration at its new project site, 935 S. Edgewood Ave., Urbana.

The new facility will be 185,000 square feet, built on 55 acres of former farm land — which will provide plenty of room for future expansions. This new facility will combine three Urbana-area operations into one location while retaining 160 jobs and adding an additional 20 to 25 jobs in Champaign County. The new facility will be built by Bruns General Contracting. Sutphen hopes to have the project completed by December 2022.

Sutphen, founded in 1890, is the nation’s largest family-owned and operated fire apparatus manufacturer.

“This new facility will provide an incredible opportunity for our family’s business and for the city of Urbana to grow together,” said Sutphen Corporation President Drew Sutphen, a fourth-generation family member. “For the last 131 years, our family business has worked to build the safest, most reliable fire apparatus in the world. This step will help ensure that our family continues doing the same for the next 131 years.

Lance Jackson & Teresa Hill, who were both teachers in the Urbana City School district for decades, serve as official program advisors. They both keenly understand the challenges local students face.

UYC knows students at the youth center are incredibly fortunate to have the experience of two of Urbana’s very best educators working on crafting programs for them. Their expertise is a major asset to the youth center and this community.

Including official advisors and volunteer advisors, the entire program team brings more than a century of combined education and program experience to the table.

Justin T. Weller leads the team at the youth center as the Executive Director.

Now that the youth center serves more than 400 student members and is working to expand their program offerings, it is essential UYC builds a sustainable approach to serving the needs of our young people. These new team members are working to make some big and exciting things possible.

Information from UYC's Facebook page.

​The Champaign County Chamber of Commerce is taking nominations until September 15th in 25 categories ranging from best coffee shop to best employer.

In order to be nominated, the business or organization must be within the limits of Champaign County. Official voting for the Best of Champaign County will be September 16th-October 22nd, after all nominations have been submitted. Voters are asked to donate $1 per vote to the Chamber of Commerce, so that it can continue to carry out its mission to connect Champaign County by promoting members and inspiring collaboration by offering resources and opportunities to enhance our community. Nominations and ballots will be accepted online, by mail, email or in person at the Chamber of Commerce located at 127 W. Court St. in Urbana.

Chamber Director, Sara Neer, explains, “We started the Best of Champaign County contest and fundraiser as a response to our events being cancelled due to the pandemic. The response from the community and our members was very positive and many asked us if we would continue to do it annually, so here we are. This is a great way to educate the community on the many great businesses and organizations that not only provide services to our county, but also are the first to sponsor, volunteer and give back.”

The Best of Champaign County winners will be recognized at the Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner on October 28th, on various social media platforms and on the Chamber’s website. Submit your nominations below!

“The Chamber is looking forward to returning to an in-person event this year and to celebrate the business community and our members after what has been a very trying year for everyone. We want to make this a celebration and a coming together of our members and the whole community in what will be a fun and entertaining evening”, says Executive Director, Sara Neer.

The cost to attend the event is $50 per person, $95 per couple, and $360 for a table of 8. Reservations may be made by emailing info@champaignohio.com or by calling 937-653-5764.

Nominations for Awards Being Accepted Through September 30th
The Champaign County Chamber is also accepting nominations through September 30th for the annual Simon Volunteer of the Year Award, which will be presented during the Annual Meeting. The Simon Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to a person or organization that has significantly contributed to improving the quality of life of Champaign County. The nomination form can be found here. Forms also may be obtained by calling 937-653-5764 or emailing info@champaignohio.com.

She’s passionate about the work the CEP does and believes that a partnership between businesses and government is the best way to help local businesses grow.

“What we really pride ourselves on here is being able to act as liaisons between government and business,” said Bailey. “Being a resource that can join those kinds of entities together and look at the bigger view is important.”

She believes that when businesses and government work together, it’s a recipe for growth for the whole community.

“There’s not a silver bullet to any one particular way that’s better than not, but I think for us and our community, it needs to be that collaborative partnership with public and private.”

Bailey has been with the CEP since its inception seven years ago following a discussion with Pioneer Rural Electric Co-op, the Champaign County Commissioners and the city of Urbana.

“I was able to get the office up and running, hire a staff person, get the CEP board created and organized, create the CEPohio.com website and the newest addition ChampaignWorks.com. The first big accomplishment was making this economic development agency a reality,” she said. “It’s through the support of the county commissioners, city of Urbana, villages of St. Paris, North Lewisburg and Mechanicsburg, and then private industry, helping to support this agency as a whole.”

Some of the projects Bailey has worked on  include the clean-up, new ownership and redevelopment of the former Q3 building on Miami St., bringing the Cobblestone Hotel to Urbana under local ownership, Advanced Technology Products expansion to Mechanicsburg and the Sutphen Corporation announcement to consolidate three facilities into a new building in Urbana.

She was also instrumental in implementing a housing survey that she hopes will convince developers there’s a need for more housing in Champaign County.

The Legacy Place project (North and South elementary buildings and Douglas Hotel) are examples of housing redevelopment of landmark buildings in the community.

In addition to bringing new businesses and talent to the area, Bailey has worked to expand existing businesses, adding more jobs to the area and acted as a liaison to help existing businesses serve the local community in new ways.

Bailey was also instrumental in the creation of the Champaign County Manufacturers Council and the addition of a CEP Business Liaison that connects local students to the businesses through career exploration, internships and paid employment.

She hopes that the person who is hired to replace her will bring his/ her own ideas about how to help Champaign County grow and their enthusiasm and knowledge for existing projects like the redevelopment of Urbana University’s campus.

Overall, Bailey leaves behind a legacy of hope, perseverance and the belief that neighbors should look out for one another and help each other to grow.

“I’m so appreciative that I’ve been given the opportunity to put this all together and be the first director of this agency,” she said. “I’ve had so many opportunities to meet so many people, sit down with them and learn about their businesses in Champaign County, their products, their international commerce and the skills needed by their workforce.

“I’m also extremely grateful to the CEP Board members and the investors for their continued support of me and the agency, I will miss everyone immensely,” Bailey said.

Bailey’s colleagues on the CEP board know that her shoes will be tough to fill.

“Marcia has done an immense amount of work. She’s worked tirelessly to get this thing up and running,” said CEP Board President Kyle Hall. “We’re really going to miss having her here. She’s done a great job.”

He doesn’t believe anyone can truly replace Bailey, but he hopes that the next Director of the CEP will continue to respond to the business community’s needs and that he/ she will work to find solutions for the area’s need for housing.

CEP board member Dave Snyder said that Marcia has been instrumental in bringing together public and private entities. “She’s done a good job of bringing entities together like counties, townships, villages and the private sector with new and existing businesses,” Snyder said.

He expects that finding the right person to take over as director of the CEP will be a difficult task.

“It’s going to be hard to find somebody with her skill set and her personality,” he said. “We’re not going to try to recreate her, but we’re going to try to find someone with those skills.”

If you are interested in applying for this position, please reach out to CEP directly by emailing info@cepohio.com or call the office at (937)653-7200.