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End of 2012 Reports from Orrville Chamber Members

Posted on Monday, January 7, 2013 - 1:45pm

Welcome to a brand new year! As we all look ahead with curiosity, concern, determination and hopeful optimism, it's reassuring to know that we can count on each other to continue to make Orrville a community of choice, always serving as and continually sharing examples of how businesses and people do indeed thrive here.

It has become our custom to share end of year reports from our members. We had a very good response this year, and as always I think you will find them worthwhile and interesting. READ THE END OF 2012 REPORTS HERE.

Along with that, HERE IS the Chamber's 2012 Annual Report.

Your Chamber Board has been looking ahead, setting new goals and advising Lori and I on direction and focus areas for 2013. Communication will continue to be a high priority. We are especially excited about taking further steps to develop an Orrville ap for mobile phone use that will put our information - and YOURS - directly into the hands of people who live, work and visit here!

Summer of 2012 Weather Survey

Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - 3:10pm

I don’t know about you, but for me this was a difficult, stifling hot summer.  No question I love the state of Ohio and the change of seasons.  But when I can’t enjoy sitting on my shaded patio in the evenings, that’s just plain too hot. My usual level of activity dropped to practically zero.  I wilted. 

The power of weather never ceases to amaze me.  What I have observed from my birdseye view at the Chamber is that no matter what the weather, one business is going to do really well while another suffers from it.  With that in mind, we sent out a simple survey asking if the hot, dry weather this summer had an impact on business.

The overall rating of the 23 people who responded was a 2.5 degree of impact on a scale of 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Huge impact).  When asked if the effect was positive or negative, the rating was a 3.5 on the positive side of things.  

Although 23 people may not be a huge number, it turned out to be a pretty good indicator because together they represented non-profits, event sites, health care, retail, real estate, insurance, banking, construction, government, service and industry.  Obviously missing was agriculture, which very likely would have been another story.

So with those basic mid range responses in mind, here are some of the comments we received. (Note: Bankers responding made no comment other than to say that the weather had no noticeable effect on activity.)

 “All of the tourism businesses I have talked to are having a great year. For our industry, the weather was not a huge factor.”  Marty Starkey, Wayne County Visitors and Convention Bureau

“Since I have been here, this has been the worst, with about 30% more assistance in utilities than 2011.  Really cold winters can also cause higher heating bills, especially with propane being at an all time high.  With our FEMA/EFSP money cut from the state and federal government, it makes it more difficult to meet needs caused by weather. It would benefit us for you to call your state officials to tell them to not cut these funds which are critical in our community to help the needy.”   Stacey Underwood, Orrville Salvation Army.

“We are very fortunate here at the Orrville Y with our new addition. We are able to accommodate higher numbers in our fitness center. In my ten years working here, summer's are traditionally a slower time. It was not slow this summer! I believe it may be a combination of our new addition and the excessive heat that brought more people in.

This summer's weather gave the fitness staff the opportunity to educate our members about staying healthy in the summer heat because people were ready to listen. We were able to remind people, especially our seniors on a daily basis, about taking precautions to avoid dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. In our Kid Strong program the theme was the Olympics and the fitness instructors were able to incorporate education teaching the kids about being a healthy athlete in different kinds of climates.”   Holly Spurlock, Orrville/Dalton Y

“We had patients coming into the Emergency Department for heat related illnesses. Also a few community members came to the hospital for shelter from the high heat and poor air quality related to the excessive heat.  We are prepared for emergencies including those related to excessive heat and poor air quality.

We have also been alerted to be on the look out for H3N3 Flu and whooping cough occurrences which may have started earlier than usual due to the unusual summer weather.

Aultman Orrville Hospital is a member of Northeast Central Ohio Hospital Association for Emergency Preparedness which is a consortium dedicated to working together to be prepared for any unusual adverse or emergency event.”  Dr. Marchelle Suppan, Aultman Orrville Hospital

“Weather related issues here were mostly negative. However, the more predictable weather has allowed employees to enjoy their time off more, and that cannot be anything but good for them!”  Jeff Evans, The Will-Burt Company

“Workers tired easy and effectiveness dropped. Higher risk of injuries occur when the employees are tired and exposed to the high temps.  "The Blizzard" 1978 and "The Freeze" of 2009 created issues on the other end of the scale. Travel to and from work was the real issue for our employees. Employees called off and/or got stranded on their way to work. Or the weather caused issues at home they needed to resolve.  With that in mind, the hot weather is better, just keep cold fluids available, watch for signs of heat exposure, reduce hours when possible or adjust hours from the heat of the day if possible.”  Jack Rose, The Will-Burt Company

“The dry weather didn't help homes look their best and may have contributed to drier basements than normal, but overall it was much easier to deal with this summer than last summer's record rain.”  Eric Larson, Bob Miller Realty

“Blizzards, tornadoes and power outages effect my type of business more then the hot weather.” Sheryl Holliday, H+R Block

“As a whole, rainy weather makes us busier but that’s foot traffic coming in the door. Our numbers for June were off a little,  but it looks like we made up for it in July.  Therefore, the heat  did not effect us that badly.”  Jarrod Brown, Brown’s Furniture

“We have been far more impacted negatively during heavy snow winters. Paying overtime for plowing and extra salt can change a budget in a hurry.” Mayor Dave Handwerk, City of Orrville

"With the very warm days, many people opted to stay indoors with their air on than come out and attend the Thursday night free park concerts. Attendance was low for the entire season."  Jeanne Gault, City of Orrville,  Rehm  Performing Arts Summer Concert Series

“We did see an increase in our electric bill due to running air conditioners full time.  We did see patrons visiting more, possibly to keep cool!”  Patricia Carr, Orrville Public Library

“ It remains to be seen. Our farm clients will find out in a week or two when fall harvest starts. I remember 1988 as far worse for us locally and in Ohio. I don’t remember the rest of the country being this bad off at that time, however. This year appears to be the reverse - we are better off than what we see and hear from clients in the direct Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana).   Brent Steiner, Ramsier Financial Services

“We are in the mowing industry and we saw retails sales off by 10% from our expected sales, although we were actually 10% above our July sales of 2011.  As for that 10% off, it was only for the month of July. Other months have been good.  Again the weather didn't have too much of an effect and some of that is because we don't just sell to the local market and we have a fairly broad base.” Dallas Steiner, Ventrac

" In all honesty, we have stayed very busy. For us, the nice weather gets people out to events and family gatherings. This results in a large number of people backing into each other and objects.  I would also add,   Don't dwell on something you can't control, find a way to improve yourself and your business in an adverse situation."   J.R. Noe, Nagy's Collision

 "We have had winters that have hurt alot more than this weather actually  helped.   Sunshine usually puts people in a positive, uplifting mood!" Jason Anderson, Serpentini

As you can see, these responses do give us a pretty good feel for how the summer of 2012 was for a variety of our Chamber members.  Special thanks to those took the time to fill out the survey. 

Now,   I'm ready for autumn!  How about you?