Start it Up Athens! Campaign to Launch this Weekend.

$10,000 Grant Award for Businesses; $5,000 in cash for Athens County Residents.

Economic Development Council Looks to Attract More Businesses to Athens County by Telling the Athens Story through the eyes of current and past residents

(April 20, 2012) – Athens County’s Economic Development Council (Athens Business Remixed), and partnering sponsor the Ohio University Innovation Center, are launching a nationwide business grant and story telling contest – Start It Up Athens! The competition will be announced during this weekend’s Startup Weekend at the Innovation Center.

There are two components to the competition, they include:

1. A $10,000 business grant competition – Businesses wanting to grow an existing business in Athens County or start up a new business in Athens County will compete for a $10,000 grant. The only catch? They must grow, expand or start their business in Athens County in 2013.

2. A $5,000 story telling and spirit competition – Past, present, and future Athens area residents and Ohio University students will be challenged to tell the best Athens County story in competition for a $3,000 first place prize a $1250 second place prize and a $750 third palce prize. The stories, told in their own words, with photographs or videos must be published somewhere online and must link back to the Website – http://www.startitupathens.com.

It is the hope of Athens Business Remixed that the competition results in one new business choosing to relocate or expand in Athens County and in the creation of hundreds of new pieces of online content about the true spirit of Athens County.

“The goal is to attract businesses to Athens County and to do so by telling the story of Athens County and who better to tell it than those of us who love it here and live here?” said Todd Shelton, Director of the Athens County Economic Development Council (Athens Business Remixed).

The grant component of the competition aims to bring new business growth to Athens County by awarding $10,000 to the business idea that is most persuasive, most efficacious, and best presented. The selected grant recipient will be required to use the grant dollars in Athens County to launch the award winning business idea in 2013.

The story component of Start It Up Athens will engage current or even former Athens County residents or Ohio University students to capture the spirit of Athens County with a series of, or one piece of online content. YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Facebook campaigns and/or blog posts would all be examples of qualifying entries. Three cash prizes totalling $5,000 will be awarded to the the most compelling entries. First place will be awarded $3,000, second place $1,250, and third place will take home $750.

Winners of both the grant and story telling competition will be judged by a panel of local community and business leaders, as well as other economic development stakeholders to be announced. In addition to creative presentation and the quality of content, judges will also be considering the amount of social shares the online content received. Award announcements will be made on January 9, 2013. Full judging parameters and considerations are available on StartItUpAthens.com.

Local businesses, a thriving arts and music scene, and access to our beautiful natural landscape make Athens County an ideal place to live, work, and play. Both competitions will add to this, with the grant money attracting budding entrepreneurs, existing businesses looking to expand, or even digital companies seeking an Athens presence. The story competition will give each community member a voice and a way to show off his or her Athens County.

About Athens County Economic Development Council

The Athens County Economic Development Council, known as Athens Business Remixed, is the champion of business in Southeast Ohio. A public-private partnership, the Economic Development Council is committed to increasing economic opportunity in Athens County by encouraging entrepreneurship, recruiting new businesses, and helping existing businesses grow and expand.

For additional information on Start It Up Athens, please visit BusinessRemixed.com and look for full contest rules and entry forms at StartItUpAthens.com. The site will launch on April 20th, 2012.

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Why Athens County?

Why do people choose to work and live in Athens County? We took a minute to pick the mind of Terry Smith, the long standing Editor of The Athens NEWS. After graduating from Ohio University and then heading out West for several years, Terry moved back to Athens in 1987 and has never left. We wanted to know why.

Q: There really isn’t another place on Earth like Athens. What do you think it is about Athens County that makes it so truly unique?

Terry: It’s a small town atmosphere with all different types of people; a fresh, young vibe; plenty of popular and classical culture; a deeply rooted cultural identity, and an abundance of natural, pretty countryside. You can probably drive our country roads for a week straight without traveling the same patch of road. Athens reminds me of resort towns out west — lots of healthy active people; recreation is big; and the nightlife is always happening.

Q: You chose to move back to Athens after you graduated from Ohio University and went out West for some time. Why did you come back?

Terry: When my wife, Melanie, and I had our first daughter in Cortez, Colo. in 1985, we started getting homesick for our families back East. When a job opened up in Athens, I jumped at the chance. From the first week in college in the fall of 1973, I fell in love with the place. From that point on, I never really wanted to live at home again (a suburb of Akron). Out West, I was always talking up Athens, and I remained in contact with a number of friends here (mostly folks who attended college when I did, and then stayed here).

Q: And why haven’t you left?

Terry: I have a job I like, lots of friends here, and it just feels like home. Before arriving in Athens to work at the paper, I lived in 10 different states, never living in any one place for more than a couple of years (with the exception of Stow, Ohio, where I lived from 4th grade through graduation). So after all that, it sure has been nice to stay in one place for a long time. I wouldn’t foreclose the possibility of leaving at some point — I’m pretty adaptable — but for now this is my home, and we have no plans to leave.

Q: What do you enjoy the most about living in Athens?

Terry: Not any one thing; it’s more the combination of positive attributes that makes Athens what it is.

Q: Over these past two decades as the Editor of Athens County’s only alternative newspaper, the Athens NEWS, how do you think Athens has changed? Is this a positive or negative change?

Terry: I really don’t think it has changed all that much. There’s a bit more development in the commercial parts of Athens, and Nelsonville, in particular, has changed hugely since I came to Athens County in the mid-’80s. In Athens, though, I’m pretty sure the experience that an OU student has for four years now isn’t materially different from what I experienced as a student in the mid-’70s. Seriously, I don’t see any major changes, good or bad. I occasionally will flip through our old bound volumes of the paper, and it really is noticeable how little changes with time. The stuff that people argue about today, or that they’re involved with, is very much like what they got wrapped up in 20-30 years ago.

Q: Where do you think Athens will be 20 years from now?

Terry: It’s hard to say; I think to a remarkable extent, Ohio University provides a level of consistency and economic security that keeps Athens from changing very much.

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Timeless Athens

We wanted to share this video from the Ohio University archives. Originally presented in 16-millimeter format and filmed in 1979, the video truly captures the Athens spirit.

Ironically, not much as changed – except for the fashion.


This film is the property of Ohio University Archives, Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Alden Library, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

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Athens County Economic Development Council (Business Remixed) is a resource for businesses wishing to re-locate, start up or grow within Athens County. For more information read here or contact us at 740-597-1420.

 

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Calling All Food Entrepreneurs

Food entrepreneurs are gathering on Thursday, March 1st to share ideas, resources and to discuss assistance to food industry-related business in Athens County.

Anyone who has ever had the chance to visit Athens County for more than a day soon recognizes the unique food ecosystem that is flourishing here. Our community has many entrepreneurs dedicated to farming, raising livestock, & cultivating cheeses just to name a few. In addition, we have restaurants and other consumer based companies that use these locally harvested products in their daily business, further supporting the area’s food ecosystem.

As residents we support these local efforts and as such, these businesses have been growing, expanding, and creating jobs. The specialty food industry has been recognized as one of our growing sectors for some time. In the last few years we have seen new food business ventures slowly and steadily increase in Athens County, catch up by reading all of our past stories on the growing specialty foods industry

As a response to the growing need for information and resources, a group of organizations dedicated to economic development are having a Local Foods Economic Development Resources Meeting this Thursday evening @7pm at ARTS West.

There will be representatives from ACENet, the Athens County Economic Development Council, Rural Action Sustainable Ag, 30 Mile Meal, to share information about resources they may have available to assist food entrepreneurs.  This meeting is free and open to all who care to learn more about this growing industry and how we can work together to continue moving in a positive, productive, & sustainable direction.

[Photo credit: The Athens NEWS]

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Booming Athens business on the move.

This summer, Global Cooling Inc. and Stirling Ultracold made a big move from their Columbus Road facility to the Bill Theisen Industrial Park in the Plains. Global Cooling and Stirling Ultracold CEO Neill Lane gave Athens Business Remixed a tour of the company’s new location recently and discussed the unique work, life balance of Athens County, which has helped to foster the dramatic growth of the business.

The company, a manufacturer of ground breaking environmentally-friendly, ultra-low temperature freezers, is a recent recipient of the State of Ohio’s Third Frontier investment initiative, which supports technology areas that represent Ohio’s key competitive opportunities. There is no doubt about Stirling Ultracold’s competitive edge. The company’s pioneer Shuttle Model which can maintain temperatures of -86° C using about the power required for a light bulb is a game changer. For example, The Shuttle can aid medical organizations when transporting materials like vaccines to remote areas of the planet, which before were reached with dry ice in a cooler – a risky and cumbersome delivery method.

According to Global Cooling Inc. CEO Neill Lane, the new facility, built by the Athens County Port Authority in 1998, suits them perfectly.

Athens Business

A Stirling Ultracold freezer

“We were looking at commercial space in town and then the Port Authority and Todd Shelton introduced us to this building,” Lane said. “It’s perfect. It is exactly what we need as a manufacturing company. It’s 10,000 square feet of office space; 40,000 square feet of manufacturing space. It’s unpretentious. It’s what you want to show your investors. It’s clean, well laid out; it’s what you want to show your customers.”

Lane also pointed out that employees enjoy working for the company and that support from the Athens community has made it relatively easy to find qualified workers.

“We have had very good luck getting our labor force,” Lane said. “We have not, so far, had to advertise. We’ve had a stream of people dropping off resumés. We’ve been in the news somewhat as we’ve gotten help from the state and the local community.”

Lane also cited Global Cooling Inc.’s proximity to schools like Ohio University and Hocking College have made it easier to find well-trained additions to the company’s manufacturing staff.

As a business manager, Lane says that Athens makes sense for their business because the ultra-low temperature freezer was invented in Marietta, Ohio. But personally, Lane said that Athens is a great place to live.

“We have a very nice community here, and a community that is often not replicated in bigger places,” he said. “The university is clearly a big part of the community. The campus is beautiful; it’s a beautiful place to walk around.”

Lane is also a farmer’s market enthusiast.

“We have one of the best farmer’s markets in the nation. I shop there every Saturday,” he said. “Come rain or shine, I’m at the farmer’s market.”

Lane concluded his musings on Athens by saying, “It’s community, it’s culture, it’s sport. It’ just a really great place to live.”

Interested in relocating or starting a business in Athens? Contact us and we’ll get right back to you.

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