Fostoria Business Newsletter

Building a Vibrant Community Through Dynamic Partnerships

Please Plan to Attend!

The Chamber will host a Candidate Forum for Fostoria City Council, Fostoria Mayor, Fostoria City Schools Board of Education, and Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court Judge Candidates.

Mayor

Don Mennel

Elliott Shaffer

City Council-at-Large

Greg Cassidy*

Braden Hall

Robert Podach

Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court Judge

Rhonda Best & James Fruth

Fostoria CSD Board of Education

Thomas Guernsey

Nichole Jones

Drew Shaver

*Incumbent

Our recent episode features Michele Cochran, Executive Director at the Greater Fostoria Community Foundation.

The podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple and Google. Learn more and follow Shut Up & Listen: Small Town Stories on Facebook and Instagram.

2nd Annual Halloween Party

The Chamber is happy to host the 2nd Annual Halloween Party on October 21st at 5:30 p.m. at Stacy's Place.

This year's theme is Harry Potter. Costumes are encouraged but not required.

Riding Around with Renee

The most recent episode has been released and highlights Callies Performance Products at the National Tractor Pulls in Bowling Green.

Upcoming Topics:

October: BWC Update, November: Brad Hurtig, December: Stop the Bleed Training, January: Critical Care Injuries on the Upper Extremity, February: NARCAN Training

All Safety Council meetings begin at 11:30 a.m. and are held at the Fostoria Learning Center. RSVP via email: Admin@FostoriaChamber.com

If you would like a lunch, you must RSVP.

The 2023 Fostoria Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market Season has concluded.

The final market of the season was on September 16th.

Please take the survey as we collect results about how to grow and improve our market!

As the 2023 Fostoria Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market season has ended, we want to again thank the Geary Family YMCA, Don Cochran of Dye Real Estate & Land Company, Clouse Construction, Great Lakes Ace Hardware, Mennel, ProMedica Fostoria Community Hospital, Destination Seneca County and the Fostoria Community Arts Council for sponsoring the markets this year. These sponsors provided activities, complimentary items, raffles, screenings, games and live entertainment – making a pleasurable shopping experience during the markets. We are appreciative of our 55 vendors from 16 communities who participated this year, including 14 for the first time with us.

Holding the market on Main Street between North and Center Streets as well as in and beside The Parkette improved the walkability of the market for our shoppers, made it easier for vendors to unload their items and also gave downtown businesses more foot traffic. We have surveyed our vendors to ask for their input on any improvements in holding the market on the street, as well as some possible changes to the schedule for next year.

The Fostoria Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau has now managed the Fostoria Farmer’s & Artisans’ Markets for three years. We will be using some of the proceeds from managing the markets toward funding our ongoing outdoor public art initiatives in the community.

Ohio's Total Solar Eclipse

On Monday, April 8, 2024 residents and visitors across Ohio will experience a total solar eclipse. The path of totality will be greater than most eclipses and is expected to be about 124 miles wide and will stretch across 13 states. In Seneca County the center of totality will pass directly over Bloomville.

Fostoria will experience a total eclipse for 3 minutes 43.6 seconds. The eclipse will begin at 1:56 p.m. with totality at 3:11 p.m. Seneca County is expecting a huge influx of visitors to view the eclipse. County wide meetings are taking place and we will provide more information as the date nears.

In the meantime, we encourage business owners to be prepared for the influx of visitors and begin making plans to accommodate.

Learn more about the path of the 2024 eclipse:

Ohio Total Solar Eclipse

Coffee Convos with the Chamber

We are proud to start Coffee Convos with the Chamber. These meetings will be an informal setting to encourage businesses to network and to meet Jocelyn, the Chamber/Small Business Director.

The first coffee convos will be October 25th, 9am, at Java's Enchanted Bean.

Please reach out to Jocelyn with any questions at director@fostoriachamber.com or 419-435-0486.

YouScience – Don’t Miss this Opportunity to Connect your Business to Students!

For the first time, Fostoria companies are being asked to register on the YouScience system, making your company more visible to high school students! The Employer Connection Portal is a platform to assist Seneca County students to become aware and better understand the businesses in our community.

YouScience is an aptitude-based career guidance tool being used by our Seneca County School Districts to help students identify best-fit careers. So, this assessment is not just a career interest-based assessment like what has typically been used in the past. YouScience lets students know what they are naturally good at and what careers align with their aptitude!

Benefits to your company will include:

• Influencing talent by promoting your career opportunities.

• Building a better prepared and more diverse talent pipeline.

• Identifying specific skills necessary for needed positions within your organization.

• Maybe the best part… It is FREE! As an early mover, there is no cost to get your brand in front of talent!

Please take 5 minutes to add your company information to our student’s employer directory! Register here: https://opportunities.youscience.com/employer/registration

If you have any questions or need assistance with the registration process please feel free to contact Justin Depinet at Fostoria City Schools at jdepinet@fostoriaschools.org or 419 - 436 - 4189.

Harrold Floriana Funeral Home Big Bear Muffler Complete Family Dentistry BoJhun Environmental Services Fruth & Co. PLL Extra Closet Storage North Street Styling Budder Technology POET Rejuvenate Healthcare Fostoria Rail Preservation Society Seneca County Health Dept. McDonalds Eye Centers of Northwest Ohio Premier Bank Sandy Creek Mining Co.

Our members are doing GREAT things!

After a long process, we are proud to help host a grand opening Ribbon Cutting for the City Lofts at 107 W. Center Street. These fully renovated apartments are on the second story above Beyond Laser Creations and the Fostoria United Way.

There will be appetizers from Flippin Jimmy's and some beverages available as well. Come help us celebrate this grand addition to downtown Fostoria!

Ribbon donated by: Flowerland!

Chamber Business of the Month is

St. Catherine's Manor of Fostoria

St. Catherine's Manor of Fostoria is a busy and active place. Not only for the residents but also for the staff, who put community service as a high priority in all they do. St. Catherine's Manor provides excellence for their residents and reaches out to the community in many different ways all year long.

Some of their community outreach programs include: Fostoria Senior Newsletter and Calendar; Free monthly community Bingo where desserts, coffee and blood pressure screenings are included; monthly educational talks; provide free monthly blood pressure screenings at Wesley Commons; "Dirt Therapy" for community members where attendees were educated on the various therapy programs available at St. Catherine's and planted pots of flowers and had their gardening questions answered by Lynette Conine of Conine's Country Market; Veteran's Ceremony recognizing area veterans; provide activities for Seniors with Developmental Disabilities; provide volunteers for Feed My Kids program; support Hospice bereavement camps for children; support local athletic teams and health fairs by donating raffle baskets, door prizes and advertising; participating in Community Clean Up and much more.

St. Catherine's participates and/or has board members on many non profit boards in the community, including the United Way, Pantry Plus, CASA and Rotary.

On October 12th, St. Catherine's will host a Fall Festival from 4pm-7pm.

St. Catherine's is located at 25 Christopher Drive in Fostoria. For more information visit: www.StCatherinesFostoria.com or call 419-435-8112.

2024 Chamber Sponsorships Available

Thank you for your support of the Chamber. With your partnership, we have been able to deliver quality initiatives, innovative projects and cost saving programs to the business community. As we continually strive for improvement, we seek to streamline our fundraising and focus on better serving you, our members.

As we move into 2024, we are offering the opportunity of Sponsorship Packages to our members again. Sponsorship packages help us to only approach you once per year when seeking sponsorships and allow you to finalize all your sponsorship and promotional details at one time.

Linked is a document, which outlines all the available 2024 Sponsorship Packages. Please review and consider signing on for a sponsorship package this year. We thank you for your past support and look forward to continuing to serve your business.

Budder Technology is offering discounted web design services to fellow members...

Click the image to learn more.

Charitable University:

An educational forum for charities and their board members

Charities are critical in our communities. Board members have critical legal duties to ensure the effectiveness of those groups. Charitable University, a new learning platform developed by the Ohio Attorney General's Office, provides tools on some of the most important elements in leading a charitable organization: board governance, governmental filings, financial operations, and fundraising. The online platform is designed to help board members understand their legal obligations and learn the best practices for running their charities. Starting in 2023, nonprofits that apply for grants from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office are required to complete Charitable U. Register at charitable.ohioago.gov/Charitable-University.

Intro Video: https://youtu.be/Mvwb2eeUwhk

More Information: Charitable University Palm Card (ohioago.gov)

Is there training that your workforce needs? Let us know and remember, any course may be customized to fit your needs.

The Fall Catalog for all courses is here!

 Click here for fall courses! 

Things to see & do this fall right here in Fostoria...

Fostoria Area Visitor's Bureau Community Calendar

Learn how your Chamber Membership can save you $$$