Team NEO Awarded $4.1 Million From State for JobsOhio Role
9/2/2011 1
For additional information, contact:
Jenny Febbo
216.363.5426 (o)
440.258.8805 (c)
jfebbo@teamneo.org
TEAM NEO AWARDED $4.1 MILLION FROM STATE FOR JOBSOHIO ROLE
Third Frontier funding will support responsibilities as regional network partner
CLEVELAND, Ohio, August 29, 2011 – Team Northeast Ohio (Team NEO) announced today that its proposal to become the JobsOhio Network Regional Partner for Northeast Ohio was approved and it will receive a $4,144,737 one-year grant from the Ohio Third Frontier program to support its new responsibilities.
The grant, approved earlier today by the nine-member Ohio Third Frontier Commission, is part of $14,828,948 being awarded to six regional partners statewide (see page two), to foster job creation and economic development.
The allocation was based on the number of expansion or attraction projects in each region that met the criteria* for Site Selection magazine’s Governors’ Cup. Northeast Ohio submitted nearly 30% of those projects statewide last year.
“We are pleased that the state used an approach that recognizes the economic development activity in each region,” said Ward J. “Tim” Timken, Jr., chairman of The Timken Company and chairman of Team NEO. “This formula considers the number of projects by region, which is a fair metric and also gives each region an incentive to grow business and increase jobs. We look forward to delivering on our responsibilities to Northeast Ohio and the entire state.”
*New facilities and expansions included in the analyses must meet at least one of three criteria: (a) involve a capital investment of at least US$1 million, (b) create at least 50 new jobs or (c) add at least 20,000 sq. ft. (1,858 sq. m.) of new floor area. Site Selection magazine focuses on new corporate location projects. It does not track retail and government projects, or schools and hospitals.
Other JobsOhio Network Regional Partners and their awards:
Columbus2020!, located in the City of Columbus (Franklin County), $2,256,579.
Regional Growth Partnership, located in the City of Toledo (Lucas County), $2,118,421.
Ohio Appalachian Business Council, located in the City of Nelsonville (Athens County), $1,657,895.
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, located in the City of Cincinnati (Hamilton County), $2,625,000.
Dayton Development Coalition, Inc., located in the City of Dayton (Montgomery County), $2,026,316.
As one of six JobsOhio Network Partners across the state, Team NEO will operate the JobsOhio Regional Office in Northeast Ohio, which will assist companies and communities that are seeking support from JobsOhio for growth and job creation. The JobsOhio Regional Office is expected to be operational by October 1, 2011. Northeast Ohio is the largest of the six JobsOhio regions, with more than four million people. The region spans from Sandusky and Mansfield in the west to Youngstown, Ashtabula and East Liverpool in the east and from Cleveland to Dover and New Philadelphia, north to south. Team NEO meets monthly with economic development organizations from each of the 18 counties in the region to share best practices and discuss new initiatives.
“We are eager to begin our new role as The JobsOhio Network Regional Partner for Northeast Ohio and are pleased with the support from the state,” said Tom Waltermire, CEO of Team NEO. “It will allow us to establish the JobsOhio Regional Office, which will create a stronger and more efficient connection between the region, and state programs and resources. The funds also will be used to build the region’s economic development capabilities. We look forward to working with our newly expanded, regional board of trustees to determine the best approach to deploying this new support.”
On August 19, 2011, 13 regional business leaders were elected as additional trustees to oversee Team NEO’s new responsibilities. CEOs of nine key economic development organizations also were named Special Trustees.
In addition to Team NEO’s existing role of marketing the region and attracting new businesses and its new role as JobsOhio Regional Partner, it also will facilitate the development of a regional economic strategy and increase collaboration among the region’s largest economic development groups. These include the region’s major metropolitan chambers of commerce and economic development boards – the Greater Akron Chamber, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the Commission on Economic Inclusion, Stark Development Board, Team Lorain County and Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber – and regional specialists in economic development: BioEnterprise, JumpStart, MAGNET and NorTech. This group, along with the Fund for Our Economic Future and the Cleveland Foundation, will meet regularly to identify new opportunities and ways to harness the region’s resources to advance strategic priorities.
About Team NEO
Team NEO advances Northeast Ohio’s economy by serving as the 18-county region’s private-sector economic development hub. It connects the region to the state’s JobsOhio program and attracts new businesses worldwide. Since 2007, the organization has attracted 47 new company operations, 3,800 new jobs and more than $151 million in annual payroll to Northeast Ohio, leading to a total annual regional payroll benefit of $257 million.
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