Canton SCORE offices are relocating to Jackson Township Hall

JACKSON TWP.  Offices for the Canton SCORE Chapter are on the move.

The organization, which offers mentoring services to small business owners, will relocate to Jackson Township’s administrative building at 5735 Wales Ave. NW. The Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce has a satellite office in the building.

The chapter operated from offices in the Conference Center on the Kent State University Stark campus for 15 years. It shared space with the Ohio Small Business Development Center.

But the college had an opportunity to lease the space to another state agency, leaving SCORE looking for a new location.

Small business assistance: SCORE’s mentors can help your small business tackles an issue and grow.

SCORE is building on its relationship with the Canton Chamber. The two organizations partnered in 2016 to form the Small Business Growth Network, a partner for Chamber members seeking help with their small business.

Jackson Township officials approved allowing SCORE use of two offices and a meeting space at no cost.

“This will enable us to continue providing high quality services to the area’s business community – both for-profits and non-profits,” Steve Katz, SCORE chairman, said of the move. “The synergies of being housed with the Chamber will enable us to reach even more clients and to recruit additional volunteers.”

Dennis Saunier, Canton Regional Chamber president and chief executive officer, said he was pleased that the chamber could expand its partnership with SCORE.

“Our joint use of space creates a strategic opportunity to provide more support and mentoring for small businesses throughout the community,” Saunier said, thanking Jackson officials for making the move possible.

SCORE is a volunteer group funded in part by the Small Business Association and has more thane 300 chapters around the country. It has operated locally for 40 years, first as part of an Akron chapter and then organizing as Canton chapter in 1990.

The Canton chapter helps small businesses in Stark, Tuscarawas, Carroll, Holmes and Harrison counties. In addition to individual mentoring session, the chapter provides seminars and webinars.

Annual SCORE recognition luncheon

Four local businesses will be recognized Dec. 9 when Canton’s SCORE chapter has its annual client recognition event.

Generally SCORE has a luncheon, but this year the event will be conducted virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Businesses being recognized this year are:

• Tumbleweed Creations, owned by Tara Dedmon. She has worked with SCORE mentors since April 2018 and developed several new business opportunities tied to photography and cosmetic products.
• Beech Creek Botanical Gardens & Nature Preserve, founded in 1999 by Melinda Carmichael. She has worked with SCORE over the past year developing a business and marketing plan, and building the board of directors.
• TeleVine Therapy and founder Tara Vining, a speech-language pathologist. She has worked with SCORE since 2018 and received help with creating job descriptions, hiring, compensation and creating an employee handbook.
• Tremont Coffee Co. and founders Mark and Michelle Kemp. They have worked with SCORE since 2017 on business management and expansion.

Consumers National Bank is sponsor for the event. Guest speaker will be Mike Galina, director of outreach and organizational development at Aultcare.

Local Byrider franchise claims company honor

The owners of Canton’s Byrider used care dealership have won the national chain’s franchise of the year award.

Chris McPhie, Greg Barrett and their team claimed the award after ranking among the chain’s top three franchises with four or more locations for the third consecutive year.

The award recognizes best overall performance based on internal store rankings and a measure of how the business has contributed to the Byrider chain. Two of the franchise group’s stores — Byrider Ashtabula and Byrider Mansfield — received President’s Awards for placing in the top 10% of all Byrider stores. The local franchise group also owns stores in Akron and Wooster; and a location in Charlotte, NC.

The convention for the first time in Byrider’s 31-year history was held virtually to accommodate safety precautions because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Awards go to Carrollton KOA

Guests are happy with their visits to Carrollton KOA and that has been recognized by Kampgrounds of America.

The national organization presented its 2021 KOA President’s Award and KOA Founder’s Award to the local campground.

The annual awards are based on surveys of campers who visit KOA sites around the country, said Toby O’Rourke, the company’s president and CEO. “Our campground owners and their staffs work so hard to ensure each and every guest has a truly exceptional camping experience so it’s a pleasure to recognize this work.”

Wayne Savings to buy back shares

Directors of Wayne Savings Bancshares approved a new stock buyback plan last week.

The holding company for Wayne Savings Community Bank will repurchase 5% of the company’s shares, up to an additional 124,685 shares. Wayne Savings completed a stock repurchase program during the third quarter.

The plan allows the company to acquire shares on the open market through private transactions. President and CEO James R. VanSickle said the share repurchase program shows the company supports efforts to improve shareholder value.

Based in Wooster, Wayne Savings has 12 offices, including a branch at 1265 S. Main St., in North Canton.

Reach Edd at 330-580-8484 or edd.pritchard@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @epritchardREP