George Voinovich to Receive H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award

5/26/2011

For additional information, contact:                             Jenny Febbo 
                                                                               216.363.5426 (o) 
                                                                               440.258.8805 (c) 
                                                                               jfebbo@teamneo.org

GEORGE VOINOVICH TO RECEIVE H. PETER BURG REGIONAL VISION AWARD
            Team NEO Annual Award Recognizes Regional Leadership

CLEVELAND, May 23, 2011 — Team Northeast Ohio (Team NEO) will honor former United States Senator George V. Voinovich with the annual H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award at the Team NEO Economic Development Plus Awards on June 30, 2011. The H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award is Team NEO’s highest honor, and commemorates the late chairman and CEO of FirstEnergy Corporation, a regional leader who was the founding chairman of Team NEO.

“George Voinovich exemplifies the legacy of Pete Burg,” said Christopher M. Connor, chairman & CEO, The Sherwin-Williams Company and chairman of the board, Team NEO. “We are honored to recognize the senator for an illustrious career that spanned decades, and for his dedication to his constituents, the region and the entire state of Ohio. All of us have benefited from his leadership and pro-business attitude.”

As mayor, Voinovich parlayed the city of Cleveland into the “Comeback City.” Cleveland is the only city to receive three All-American City Awards within a five-year period (1982, 1984, and 1986).

During his tenure as governor, more than 500,000 new jobs were created, resulting in the state’s 25-year low in unemployment. Further, the state was ranked #1 in the nation by Site Selection Magazine for new and expanding business facilities.


“George Voinovich is the type of leader who builds bridges across political divides and sectors to promote prosperity for our region,” said Ward J. Timken, Jr., chairman of the board of The Timken Company. “From his early days as mayor of Cleveland throughout his tenure in Congress, he has been a constant champion for Northeast Ohio.”

Voinovich recently retired after a dozen years in the Senate. His concentration in the senate was on four broad themes – fiscal responsibility, federalism, competitiveness, and national security.

In addition to honoring Senator Voinovich at the Economic Development Plus Awards, Team NEO also will present awards in ten categories for economic development efforts in Northeast Ohio that helped retain and attract companies, create jobs and bring foreign investment to the region in 2010. The Economic Development Plus Awards will be held June 30 at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio. Tables of ten and individual tickets are available. Please visit IBMag.com/TeamNEO to register.

Team NEO advances Northeast Ohio’s economy by attracting businesses worldwide to the 16-county Cleveland Plus region. The organization is a joint venture of the region's largest metro chambers of commerce. Since 2007, the organization has attracted 43 new company expansions or relocations, 3,600 new jobs and more than $143M in annual payroll to Northeast Ohio, leading to a total annual regional payroll benefit of $257M.

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