On November 14, 1935, 500 people, mostly rural residents, gathered in Piqua to celebrate the groundbreaking and erection of the first electric cooperative pole in the nation. That pole would go on to support 193 miles of power line and bring electricity to 700 rural farms with the help of Miami Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. The newly constructed lines served the three county cooperatives — Miami, Shelby and Champaign — which would merge six months later to become Pioneer Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc., a utility company owned by the people it served. It would be another six months after the initial pole setting that the first home, electrified by Pioneer, would see the lights come on. “We are thankful to be celebrating 85 years of providing electric service to our area,” said Pioneer President and CEO Ron Salyer. “We have a deep appreciation for our membership and the strong trustees, leadership, and employees who have helped shaped Pioneer along the way.” The formation of the electric cooperative ultimately made the rural way of life easier, from making daily tasks more efficient to simply having light when it would otherwise be dark. That innovative spirit is not only a part of the co-op’s past but continues to play a role in the way Pioneer operates today. Pioneer was an early tester and adopter of the radio-controlled load management program as well as the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. The SCADA system, which monitors and controls field devices remotely, was implemented in 1987 and continues to be a valuable tool today. Consistently being on the progressive edge of technology, compared to other cooperatives, has provided Pioneer the opportunity to have input on software distributed to other cooperatives throughout the country. Throughout the past 85 years, Pioneer has built a tradition of providing safe, high quality, and responsive service to nearly 17,000 members in its primary territory of Champaign, Miami, and Shelby counties, as well as portions of the eight surrounding counties. The cooperative is headquartered in Piqua and has a district facility in Urbana. “Our mission has always been to provide safe, high quality, reliable electric service to our member-consumers,” said Salyer. “We continue to hold Pioneer to a high standard, which is what our members expect and deserve.”
Jobseekers! Save the date, Wednesday, November 18, 2020. JobsOhio is excited to partner with Champaign and Clark Counties to connect with job-seekers with businesses that have immediate job openings! Registration opens November 2, 2020. Register at : https://www.soche.org/vcf/ 
Jobseekers! Save the date, Wednesday, November 18, 2020. JobsOhio is excited to partner with Champaign and Clark Counties to connect with job-seekers with businesses that have immediate job openings! Registration opens November 2, 2020. Register at : https://www.soche.org/vcf/   By Chelsea Bray - Elle A. Design Bundy Baking Solutions is a local company, founded by Russell T. Bundy, that sells bakeware and baking equipment all over the world. The story behind the success starts with Russell in 1964 when he started Russell T. Bundy Associates Inc. (RTB) in Columbus, Ohio to engage in the purchase and resale of pre-owned bakery pans and equipment. Soon enough the business had expanded from reselling of products, to recoating and cleaning bakeware, to producing custom baking pans for some of the largest bakeries in the world. The operation moved to Urbana, Ohio along with some interesting items that Russell had been collecting through the years.  What may be the best kept secret in Champaign County is that we are home to the World’s Largest Loaf of Bread and one of the largest collections of baking memorabilia in the world. They both belong to Russel T. Bundy and are located on private property but over the years the Bundy Family has captured and shared many photos and videos of the collection. The impressive collection can’t even be contained within the three floors of the museum and is displayed throughout the headquarters, manufacturing area, employee offices and even outside!  In 2006, Russell was inducted into the American Society of Baking’s Hall of Fame and honored as an industry leader. For more than sixty years, Russell has been leading and changing the baking industry. The innovation and leadership at Bundy Baking Solutions has led them to amazing success throughout the years. Over the past several years they have seen tremendous growth and continue to be a major employer in Champaign County.  Bundy Baking Solutions is headquartered in Urbana, Ohio, and has two facilities in the UK, one in Spain and one in Romania. This global leader in the baking world has made Urbana, Ohio a more unique place to live and to work by bringing their headquarters, baking museum, and giant loaf of bread to our town.  Work Begins to Transform the Douglas Hotel and Former Elementary Schools into Senior Apartments
The apartments will be ready to lease next year, Miller said. The apartments in the school buildings will be ready by mid-summer and the apartments in the Douglas, by year end. “Legacy Place is a big win for our community, and it’s the result of persistent effort by many individuals and organizations in a united public-private partnership,” Marcia Bailey, director of the Champaign Economic Partnership, said. “Legacy Place is proof of what our community can accomplish when we work together.” Besides the CEP and project developer Flaherty & Collins, key players in the partnership are the City of Urbana, Urbana City Schools administration and Board of Education, John Doss, owner of the Douglas Hotel since 2007, and Resident Supports and Services, Inc. (RSSI). RSSI, a local nonprofit provider of housing for seniors and adults with developmental disabilities, is serving as co-developer and 25 percent owner of the project. “Revitalizing and repurposing these historic buildings will have a tremendous impact on our economy and the attractiveness of our community and downtown,” Bailey said. The anchor of the southwest corner of Monument Square since 1870, the Douglas has stood vacant since 2004. “I’m looking forward to further business development in Urbana, especially in the downtown, to accommodate the new Legacy Place residents.” Another positive outcome of the project, she added, is that it will make much needed single-family housing available for new residents as seniors downsize to move into the apartments. Miller said the project accomplishes two goals: “turning three vacant buildings back around to make them useful assets to the community and meeting Urbana’s needs for affordable senior housing.” He added that the project, as it qualified for historic tax credits, will respect the historic nature of the buildings. Ed McCall of McCall Sharp Architecture of Springfield is the architect for the project. The $13 million in financing for the project includes federal and state Historic Tax Credits, low income housing tax credits, an Ohio Housing Finance Agency loan, and a construction loan. As the City of Urbana’s community development manager, Doug Crabill has been assisting Flaherty & Collins on the project for three years. He said, “Projects like this sometimes have a long horizon before the public can see the fruits of what we’ve been working for. The great thing is that everybody – the city, schools, the CEP, the developer – have been pulling in the same direction to get us where we are today.” He added, “John Doss has helped keep the project moving forward and he’s kept the Douglas in a stable state” to make it a viable candidate for the project. Doss had work completed to stabilize the structure and removed two small additions, which did not contribute to the historic value of the property. “I was really happy about the city and the school board all pulling together to get this done,” Doss said. “The schools really stepped up for the community.” Charles Thiel, superintendent of Urbana City Schools, said, “It’s been a long, long journey to get to this point. But we had faith and hope that we would get here.” Scott DeLong, president/CEO of RSSI, said, “Our board members are excited about the project and happy we could participate and help make the project a success.” RSSI manages housing for people with developmental disabilities in Champaign, Preble, Shelby and Union counties. Six of the 51 Legacy Place apartments will be designated for people with disabilities. Story and photos submitted by CEP (Champaign Economic Partnership). Photos taken by Gary Schenkel.
Official voting for the Best of Champaign County will be October 1st-31st. 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, “With so many events being cancelled and postponed this year due to Covid the Chamber and Board of Directors thought long and hard about a fundraiser that we could carry out virtually to replace our in person events that we rely on for revenue to keep the Chamber in business. The Best of Champaign County contest does a few things: promotes local businesses, educates and involves the community, and assists the Chamber in raising funds by implementing a ‘donate to vote’ feature.” In a normal year the Chamber hosts monthly lunch & learns, business after hours networking events, first friday coffee hours, Safety Council meetings, Leadership Champaign County, along with other larger events. “We want to do all we can to continue providing valuable resources to our members and the community throughout this trying time and we hope that Champaign County will support our newest fundraiser”, says Chamber Board President, Tom Coles, “Small businesses add to the uniqueness of our county and we want to involve the community in recognizing and celebrating all that makes Champaign County a great place to live, work and play.” |
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