FOSTORIA AREA BUSINESS NEWSLETTER
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April 2020
"
Special Edition
"
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We are all inundated by current events and our staff, much like you, realize the need for a mental break. So this is our April 2020 "
Special Edition
" newsletter. It is filled with only good news, positive updates and humor.
Enjoy!
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For updates and info on legislation, financing and aid programs, as well as workplace safety, be sure to visit our COVID-19 Business Resource pages. They are updated daily and are a great resource for the latest information.
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Since our Annual Meeting was cancelled, we wanted to provide you with some of the highlights from 2019 we were going to
share at the event.
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2019 Chamber Highlight Video
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JOBS Fostoria's Video Series 2019 Highlights
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Medical
38,591
People Reached
2,376
Engagements
6,790
ThruPlays
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Manufacturing
49,332
People Reached
3,017
Engagements
9,028
ThruPlays
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Construction
68,123
People Reached
3,085
Engagements
14,484
ThruPlays
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Agri-Business
30,083
People Reached
1,591
Engagements
5,875
ThruPlays
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Jobs Fostoria Insights
for March 2020
Feb 25, 2020 - Mar 24, 2020
65 New Members
1,145 Active Members
105 Posts
28 Comments
75 Reactions
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OUR MEMBERS ARE DOING GREAT THINGS...
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THANK YOU,
Dr. Sulken and Dr. Kinn, DDS for adding a smile to all of our faces by adding a smile to the side of your building!
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Stained Glass Window Creations
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H & Co Salon's
owner Heather Bond and her best friend Leslie Barlekamp made this beautiful "stained glass" window on the front door or the salon at 800 N. Main. Thanks for spreading cheer and giving us something beautiful to look
at!
Bojhun Environmental owner Nichole Jones, enlisted the help of her kids to create "Peace on Earth" on the windows or her building located at 222 S. Main St.
at!
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3D Print Face Shields
The Sentinel & Hopewell-Loudon /New Riegel Agricultural & Engineering Technologies and Robotics programs are proud to announce they are helping Seneca County Emergency Management by printing Face Shield head gear for Tiffin Mercy Hospital, first
responders, nursing homes, & health
care offices throughout Seneca
County.Great job!!!!
Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow!
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The Geary Family YMCA is...
- hosting American Red Cross Blood Drives every Tuesday in Annex from Noon to 5 p.m.
- operating Wonderland as a certified Pandemic Child Care facility for critical essential workers
- hosting virtual classes for their members & Silver Sneakers.
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THANK YOU FOR DONATING NEEDED ITEMS!
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A special thank you to the following who have donated much needed items to ProMedica Fostoria Community Hospital:
Frankart Electric Clouse Construction David Bettenhausen, DPM
Dr. Tom Guernsey, DDS Fostoria Schools Hopwell Loudon PTO
Country Line Tree Farm Fostoria Learning Center
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Thank you to all who have donated food, support and other items to the
City of Fostoria Safety Forces!
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First Federal Bank/Home Savings Bank
made a
$100,000 commitment
to help local non-profits address impacts of COVID-19. The funds will support organizations focused on providing medical supplies, food and other critical
health-related essentials to the elderly.
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Click here
to find the Facebook group and ask to join.
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Thibodeau Seneca Lanes
is assisting people with accessing food. They have created an order form and are using their business relationships to help people in our community.
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Good Shepherd Home launched a social media campaign for their residents to share messages with their families during this time when they can't have visitors.
Now they are asking for your help!
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Help brighten the day of a resident! The Community Connections program at Good Shepherd Home will match participants with a resident to whom they may connect by sending letters, care packages etc.
Items could include the following:
• Letters • Photos • Coloring books • Gel pens/markers/crayons • Snacks • Word search and crossword puzzle books • Playing cards • Individual tissue packs • Etc.
If you would like to participate in the Community Connections program or would like more information, please contact Linda Gutierrez, Activities Director, at 419-937-1801 or by email at lgutierrez@goodshepherdhome.com.
We thank you for your support and for helping to spread some cheer during these uncertain times.
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St. Catherine's Manor of Fostoria
would like
virtual mail instead of mail! Their residents would love to see you through “Smile Mail”. Send them pictures of kids doing art, share a message to your loved one, cards, anything to brighten the resident’s day! Email your “Smile Mail” to
social.media@hcfmanagement.com
. Please include the facility name and the name of the resident you want to share your mail to.
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THANK YOU!
Mix 96.7 and WFOB/ESPN have extended the advertising special for Chamber members. They extended this offer to assist business continue to advertise during this time!
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Ogden Publishing Established Grant for Businesses
Ogden Publishing, new owner of the Fostoria Review Times, has established a $1 million fund to help local businesses recover from coronavirus. Fostoria business are eligible to apply for a matching grant of up to $15,000. Go to
Ogden News website for more information.
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THANK YOU COMMUNITY ENERGY ADVISORS!
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Our Community Energy Program partner, Community Energy Advisors, has stepped up to help Chambers across Ohio including ours. They already provide us with a great benefit for you, saving you $$$ on your gas and electric bills. From this they provide us a commission for each member who participates. They will be increasing our commission on each new member that signs up for the cost savings program to help our Chamber face our financial hardships due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
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We want your good news!
Is your business reaching out during this time, or do you know of someone going above and beyond? Email us at
Sarah@FostoriaChamber.com
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The Review Times
NWO
H&R Block
Callies
RR&D Master Automotive Care
Charter Steel
Clouse Construction
Hitchings Insurance
Filmtec Fabrications
Financial Design
Dyer’s Home Improvement
Southside Carryout
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CSI Insurance
NSI Crankshaft
Superior Credit Union
First Insurance Group
Olmstead’s Hauling
BR Pallet
UIS Insurance
AEP
Zender Electric
Diversified Graphics
Fostoria Kiwanis Club
Oak Villas
Alpha Coatings
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The Fostoria Chamber is proud to highlight,
Clear Choice Exteriors, located at 317 N. Main Street in downtown Fostoria.
Clear Choice Exteriors has been serving the Fostoria Community for over 13 years and is your local window depot branch. Owner Ethan Reinhart, his father Daryle and their experienced team handle exterior improvements ranging from window and doors to roofing.
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The Clear Choice Exterior team enjoy interacting with their customers and the opportunity to work within the community they call home. They inform and educate homeowners to help them make informed decisions about their home improvement needs and they are always happy to help.
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Call Clear Choice Exteriors today at 419-435-2161.
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Check out the
Small Business Resiliency Toolkit
on our website! We are adding resources regularly to help you strengthen your business during this time. Check it out at
www.fostoriaohio.org
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Go back to the basics to save your business.
New offering from CO.STARTERS:
Join a 2–hour
free
virtual workshop that will help you find the focus and clarity you need to shift your mindset and find
a new way forward. If you feel stuck, join us to identify your best next steps together.
In this workshop you will:
- Determine immediate next steps needed to stabilize
- Re-examine your venture using the CO.STARTERS Canvas
- Strategize how to better solve your customers’ changing needs
- Learn how to adapt or refine your business model
To learn more and register for this FREE workshop,
click here. Once on the site, select the date you would like and then click the website link on the right side of the screen.
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Under “non-essential business” closures in states like New York, restaurant kitchens remain open while their dining rooms close. This means that the industry’s massive customer-facing labor force—which relies on inconsistent tips to get by—has been largely fired, furloughed, laid-off, or experienced a significant reduction in hours and wages.
You can apply for aid through the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund online if you meet the following requirements:
- Part- or full-time work in the industry for at least 90 days in the past year
- Had a primary source of income in the restaurant industry for the last year
- Experienced lowered wages or job loss on or after March 10
- Live in the U.S., a U.S. territory, or an overseas military base
- Of legal age in your state or territory
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation will review and verify applications, and distribute money to eligible applicants as soon as possible, provided funds are still available.
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2020 Primary Election Update
The primary election will take place mostly via absentee ballot. In-person voting will only occur on April 28 and only at boards of elections early vote centers, not at precinct polling locations. In-person voting will only be available for individuals with disabilities who require in-person voting and those who do not have a home mailing address.
If you have already voted, your vote has been counted. If you have not yet voted, you will need to request a ballot by mail contact your local board of elections.
All ballots must be postmarked by April 27.
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Be sure to complete the 2020 Census!
For the first time, you can choose to complete the census online, by phone, or by mail. Find out more about each of these methods below:
Please note that if you are responding online, you must complete the census in one sitting, as you don't have the ability to save your progress. See
the questions the census asks here
.
If you do not receive an invitation to respond from the Census Bureau, you may respond online or visit the
Contact Us
page to call their phone line.
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We have had three winners to date:
Wendy Donaldson
Stephanie Hook
Desiree Lundy
Each winner was mailed a $25 gift card to a local business.
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On March 18 we launched COVID-19 Support Local Bingo. We believe in our community and our local businesses so our staff,
Renee Smith
(
Fostoria Economic Development Corporation
) and
Sarah Stephens Krupp
(
Fostoria Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau
) as well as the Mayor,
Eric Keckler
have personally purchased $400 in gift cards to local businesses as prizes for this contest. The first 16 people to get a Bingo will receive a $25 gift card to a local business. This contest is based on the honor system and we will award prizes based on good faith. Mark your squares the best you can by writing the business name(s) you supported. Once you have a Bingo, take a picture of your completed card and email it to
Sarah@FostoriaChamber.com
along with your name and address so we can mail your prize to you. No cards will be accepted in person. Have fun and go out and SUPPORT LOCAL!!! It matters more now than ever.
#ShopLocal
#FostoriaProud
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Join the Circular Economy
-Ohio Materials Marketplace
The Materials Marketplace allows businesses to connect and find reuse and recycling solutions for waste and by-product materials.
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Toledo Business Journal
The Toledo Business Journal wants to make sure you have access to their recent issue. They have mailed them to your businesses but realize some of you are working from home so they provided us with a link so you can access the digital version. Enjoy!
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We are very fortunate to have two locally owned banks in Fostoria. First Federal Bank and Old Fort are offering programs for our local businesses and can make local decisions to quickly assist with your financial needs.
419-436-1310
419-580-2102
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Please visit our other bank and credit union websites for their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each and every institution is here to help during this time, so find the institution that is the right fit for you.
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Pop a teddy bear in your window so children can go on a Bear Hunt and look for them if they go for a walk.
(Sticking to COVID-19 instructions, staying close to home.)
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1.Start a daily journal
2.Go for a walk
3.Facetime family members
4.Create an indoor scavenger hunt
5.Make a fort
6.Bake
7.Indoor hopscotch
8.Do STEM activities
9.Create art projects
10.Make playdough
11.Practice another language
12.Practice new hairstyles
Six links below on fun activities for kids at home
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1.Set an alarm
2.Create a daily sechedule with goals
3.Take a shower and put on real clothes
4.Have a designated work area
5.Give yourself a legitimate lunch break
6.Ignore all comforts of home
7.Pretend a boss is looking over your shoulder
8.Resist the urge to do chores
9.Change your venue every now and then
10.Listen to music
11.Stretch
Four links below on how to work from home successfully
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Today is a great day to get outside and learn more about our community! Take a walking tour today.
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Download the PocketSights mobile app from Apple App Store or Get it from Google Play
to take this self-guided tour on your GPS-enabled mobile device.
The app will guide you through downtown Fostoria, Ohio to see outdoor sculptures, murals and barn quilt squares, including more information about each stop along the way!
Downtown Art Walk – Fostoria, Ohio
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Art Work in Downtown with a Walking Tour:
“Downtown Art Walk - Fostoria, Ohio”
There is a separate PocketSights tour specifically for the eight sculptures that are part of the 2019/2020 Midwest Sculpture Initiative tour in Fostoria.
Check them out!
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🔹Carnival Cruise line told Trump, “We can match those big Navy hospital ships with some fully staffed cruise ships.”
🔹GM & Ford said, “Hold our cars, watch this; we can make ventilators where we were making cars by next week.”
🔹Construction companies said, “Here are some masks for the medical staff & doctors.”
🔹Restaurants & schools said, “We’ve got kitchens & staff; we can feed the kids.”
🔹NHL & NBA players are writing checks to pay the arena staff during postponed seasons.
🔹Churches are holding online services & taking care of their members & community.
🔹Families are making homemade masks & handing out snacks to truckers.
🔹Breweries are making sanitizer out of the left-over ingredients.
🔹We thought we couldn’t live without baseball, hockey, & NASCAR, or going to beaches, restaurants, or a bar. Instead, we’re ordering take-out to help keep businesses alive.
What they didn’t count on was America saying,
“Hold my beer, watch this.”
I think a Japanese Admiral in the middle of the Pacific said it best in 1941: “I think we have awakened a sleeping giant.”
Give us a little more time & we will be doing much better! Stop listening to the hysterical media.
We are one nation, under God.
Copy & pasted from Facebook. Author unknown. Pass it on.
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And now, a montage of puppy and baby videos.
Because, puppies! And Babies!
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Callies Performance Products
AgCredit
Financial Design Agency of Ohio
Beerco
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Fostoria Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau | 419-435-0486 | www.FostoriaOhio.org
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