THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016
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PROUD OHIO
INSIDE: Ohio's Largest Employers Made Local Marketplace Central Ohio Entrepreneurs COVER PHOTO ABOVE BY NINA PATEL
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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016
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At home in Columbus
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
How some of the largest employers give back to the city they call home
BY CAROLYN DIX REMER SPECIAL TO DISPATCH MEDIA GROUP If you want to know about the business climate in a state, no one can answer that better than CEOs, said Kristi Tanner, senior managing director for Jobs-Ohio. According to the annual survey of CEOs for the 2016 Best and Worst States for Business report by Chief Executive magazine, Ohio was recognized as the most-improved business climate in the nation, jumping 12 spots to No. 10, she said. We asked the leaders of some of Ohio’s largest employers* with headquarters in Columbus how their companies contribute to the city and their thoughts on being ranked the 10th “best state for business” that they call home.
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
No. 5 — 31,000 employees “The Ohio State University opens the doors of learning and opportunity close to home and around the world. Our talented faculty and staff are committed to preparing the next generation of leaders and elevating society through
our teaching, research and service excellence. More than 530,000 alumni are making meaningful contributions in the communities in which they live, with 60 percent of our graduates living, working and paying it forward in all 88 counties of Ohio.” — Michael V. Drake, M.D., president The Ohio State University
OHIOHEALTH
No. 10 —19,950 employees “OhioHealth has been a part of the central Ohio community for more than 125 years, and it proudly serves patients and communities in 47 counties around the state of Ohio. Our 28,000 nurses, doctors, staff and volunteers (throughout the state) have helped people through some of the most vulnerable times of their lives. We are dedicated to improving the health of those we serve, regardless of their ability to pay, and plan to continue doing that for generations to come.” — David Blom, CEO, OhioHealth
NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
No. 13 — 14,800 employees “Nationwide’s financial services and insurance business is based on building long-standing, trusting relationships. Since our founding in Ohio 90 years ago, we have been focused on leveraging our relationships to make a difference. Many of our efforts with organizations such as Nationwide Children’s Hospital, American Red Cross, United Way and Feeding America started in Ohio and now stretch across the country. Together with approximately 15,000 talented Ohio employees, Nationwide is proud to help individuals and families build a brighter future by protecting what matters most.” — Stephen Rasmussen, CEO, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
No. 40 — 8,500 employees “At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, we are gratified to attract the best and brightest talent across all roles of the organization. We actively seek diverse recruits from throughout the community and proactively offer opportunities for growth from within our existing ranks. We have found a child’s ZIP code can be an important determinant of best outcomes. So from a holistic perspective, we work with our community partners to provide housing, training and employment opportunities. We want to ensure we are not only addressing the best health outcomes for our children, but also improving the social determinants of their health. Factors such as safe neighborhoods, safe housing, food and medicine contribute to children being as healthy as they can be. We are proud of the staff who work together unified by Nationwide Children’s mission and commitment to the best quality of care. As a national pediatric leader, we are proud local families can benefit first from our expertise and the discoveries made in their own community.” — Steve Allen, M.D., CEO, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
CARDINAL HEALTH
No. 52 — 6,200 employees “It is a source of great joy for me to have the opportunity to lead a missiondriven organization that’s focused on delivering meaningful solutions that
reduce the total cost of health care while helping to improve the lives of patients. At the same time, our organization is deeply committed to giving back to the community. At Cardinal Health, we take pride in the work we do to address the many issues facing our communities — access to healthy food and safe housing, funding to study disease and improve care, prevention of prescription drug abuse and misuse as well as the advancement of the arts and education. Columbus has a lot to offer, and Cardinal Health is proud to call such a diverse, collaborative and vibrant community home. It is my hope that Cardinal Health, and our employees, can demonstrate through our actions and thoughtful engagement that we are dedicated to improving the communities where we live, work and play every day.” — George Barrett, CEO, Cardinal Health
AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER
No. 54 — 6,070 employees “American Electric Power has provided safe, reliable and increasingly clean energy to power daily life for 110 years, and we’ve been honored to help lead the growth and development of central Ohio since moving our corporate headquarters to Columbus more than 35 years ago. AEP and its charitable foundation directly contributed more than $200 million to support charitable organizations and economic development in central Ohio over the last decade. Even more important, AEP’s 3,740 dedicated employees working in central Ohio have personally contributed countless hours volunteering to support organizations that make this area a better place to live and work. AEP and the AEP Foundation proudly helped Columbus grow into the vibrant and progressive community that it is today, through support of the downtown riverfront transformation and many other public-private partnerships. We are committed to continuing our legacy of corporate leadership in central Ohio, while we make and deliver the energy that powers the state and national economy.” — Nick Akins, chairman, president and CEO, American Electric Power *Ranked by employee estimates in the April 2016 Ohio Major Employers report by the Ohio Development Services Agency.
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COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016
MADE IN OHIO
Uniting the community over locally made products BY CAROLYN DIX REMER SPECIAL TO DISPATCH MEDIA GROUP Why go far to support local? The shop local movement has been a growing trend in recent years, and two Columbus residents who have been on the forefront, working to bring locally made goods to the masses, are husband-and-wife team Andrea and Nate Archibald. “My husband and I actually lived kind of in the middle of nowhere, and it was really difficult for us to drive downtown to these areas that supported local in a smaller way,” Andrea Archibald said. They found it frustrating having to visit several different stores to find all the locally made items they wanted, and had the idea to put everything under one roof. So they left the real estate world behind in 2012 and set out on a new path, opening a store that sold only Ohio-made products. “Simply Vague was our first venture,” Archibald said. The 500-squarefoot storefront in Delaware sold everything from food to furniture and apparel, the store’s most popular item. They were willing to sell pretty much any type of product, Archibald said, as long as it was made in Ohio. The store proved a success, and the Archibalds decided to think bigger — bringing the locally made products to where the consumers were: shopping malls. “When you think of locally made items, they’re usually in these downtown areas, but they’re not usually next to a Macys in the mall,” Archibald noted. The goal was to improve access to the average consumer who might not make the effort to go out of their way to buy a local-made item. “If it’s right there in front of them, and it’s easily accessible, they’re going to choose to shop locally because it’s easy.” The idea proved fruitful, and the couple now operates Simply Vague stores in The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, Polaris Fashion Place and Kenwood Town Centre in Cincinnati, featuring 250 makers. As a storeowner, Archibald shared that vendors would frequently ask where other makers get their business cards or tags made, but she didn’t have the answers. But she knew who did. The makers themselves. As such, they thought of another way to give local makers more exposure and consumers more opportunities to shop local. In 2013, they hosted the first Made Local Marketplace. “We wanted to create this event where people could come and are actually encouraged to purchase from the makers and meet them, see the face behind the product and understand who they are supporting,” she said, likening the craft shows to the “store on steroids.” Whereas a maker may offer three of their products in the Simply Vague store, they have the opportunity to offer all of their products at the marketplace and take custom orders. “It’s so cool because we have a big draw for the shows. We have thou-
PHOTOS BY RHONDA ROSS
Above, Simply Vague co-owner Andrea Archibald. sands show up to attend,” she said. The next event takes place today, June 5, at Polaris Fashion Place. But the Archibalds weren’t done yet. In summer 2015, they founded the Ohio Creative Collective, a nonprofit organization, “as something to give back to our makers,” she said. “The goal was to promote working together, and instead of looking at each other as competition, growing and learning from each other and realizing as makers it’s important to support one another.” As Archibald noted, when one maker succeeds, it helps them all succeed. If customers are coming in to the store to purchase a candle from a popular candle maker, then the other vendors also benefit from the increased traffic to the store. The Ohio Creative Collective offers monthly social events for networking, classes on everything from small business taxes to social media promotion to its participants. Archibald also created the Ohio Made Awards as part of the Ohio Creative Collective to recognize small business owners and their accomplishments. The first award ceremony was held in January, with 24 award recipients recognized in eight categories such as Outstanding Ohio Made Food Products and Outstanding Handmade Products. Reflecting on the past few years, Archibald said, “Its one thing that’s led to another. We got to know the makers, it’s been so rewarding. It has become me trying to create more opportunities along the way, because you know the people and you care so much about where that money is going and keeping it in the community and creating jobs.” Archibald said she has seen makers quit their jobs to pursue their passions full time, enabled by the success they have had from the store, shows and networking opportunities. And she said she has seen single mothers be able to pay for ballet classes for their kids because of the extra income from selling their locally made products.
ready to shop local?
From baked goods to handmade coasters, here are just a handful of locally made products you can find at the Made Local Marketplace.
Open Hand Leather Goods Leather goods, from wallets to handbags, hand-stitched by 28-year-old Peter Brown of Columbus
Natterdoodle
Charming and whimsical hand-lettered paper goods by Natalie Keller Pariano of Columbus Image by Morgan Leigh Anderson
Fat Ben's Bakery
Baked goods ranging from donuts to melting cake pops from pastry chef Ben Arlington of Columbus
Geo Supply Co.
Beautiful and unique geometric jewelry made by Micki Current of Columbus
Columbus Coaster Co.
Coasters featuring photos of Columbus landmarks that were taken by James Godwi
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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016
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Recognizing local Ohio Made Award winners share their stories BY CAROLYN DIX REMER SPECIAL TO DISPATCH MEDIA GROUP Hard work deserves recognition, and that's exactly what happened at the first Ohio Made Awards in January as part of the Ohio Creative Collective, a nonprofit promoting opportunities and support for local businesses. The ceremony honored small businesses in Ohio that excell in a variety of categories, from Outstanding Ohio Entrepreneur to Ohio Small Business of the Year. We spoke to three local winners about their experiences as small business owners. THE KITCHEN ANNE BONINSEGNA, JEN LINDSEY Outstanding Ohio Entrepreneur If you’re looking for a unique dining experience in Columbus, you can find it — and taste it, and share it — at The Kitchen in German Village. The Kitchen is not just another restaurant. In fact, it’s not a restaurant at all. “The Kitchen is a participatory dining venue,” said Anne Boninsegna, co-owner of The Kitchen. “Our goal is to bring people together with food as a medium for a social experience.” Rather than offering a typical cooking lesson, Boninsegna and co-owner Jen Lindsey provide participants with ingredients and recipes and let them
decide what to cook and who to cook with. “We focus on them talking and learning from each other,” Boninsegna said. “We are very hands-off.” The concept started with an experience Lindsey and Boninsegna had while at a wood-fire cooking course. “The point to us was how neat it was to meet strangers, cook with them and hear about their lives,” Lindsey said. “Columbus needs more opportunities to bring people together and have a real connection,” Boninsegna added. In 2013, they opened The Kitchen. Events average about 20 to 30 participants. The reaction has been better than they expected. “People are really themselves. They say it’s comfortable, approachable,” Lindsey said. The rewarding part is when connections are made — participants exchanging emails or phone numbers. “We wanted to create a comfortable place to come and have a conversation,” Boninsegna said. “It worked.” CRIMSON CUP COFFEE AND TEA GREG UBERT Ohio Small Business of the Year Want a really good cup of coffee? So did Greg Ubert. It was 1991, and the Columbus native was working in computer software in Chicago. “Pretty simply, I couldn’t fall in love with computer software. I wanted to do something I was excited about that I thought would have good potential growth, and that was really good cof-
fee,” said Ubert, owner of Crimson Cup Coffee and Tea. So, 25 years ago he moved back to Columbus and started the business, learning everything he could about coffee. At the time, there wasn’t a lot of great coffee available in Columbus, nor were there many coffee houses, he noted. But as good coffee and coffee shops started gaining ground in the ensuing years, he turned his attention to helping others in the industry. “I found there were a lot of entrepreneurs getting into the coffee-house business, and that’s when we started focusing more of our energy and effort, on the independent coffee houses, providing support to help them succeed,” Ubert said. “They provide something to the community that’s a community space, and we want to support that.” In addition to helping other entrepreneurs, Ubert has focused on innovation; developing creative offerings such as Nitro cold brewed coffee on tap or coffee cocktails infused with lavender or chamomile. He also opened The Innovation Lab earlier this year, offering courses in coffee. “Coffee has really grown tremendously in terms of technology, and growers have focused on quality, how they can produce a better quality coffee, so the whole industry continues to grow and provide different experiences for folks,” he said. “That’s where we want to continue to be, on the education and innovation side.”
THE JONES MARKET CANDIS JONES Outstanding Ohio Handmade Product After having her first child in 2011, Candis Jones was a stay-at-home mom looking for a way to earn extra income. She had created a necklace for a friend at Christmas and realized jewelry could be her calling. Jones took a chance, opening The Jones Market from her home in January 2012. “I decided to try it for one year,” she said, adding her husband was supportive of the endeavor. A few months in, Jones noticed that babies loved the bright colors of her necklaces and tugged on them. She had the idea to make them “tuggable” and nontoxic, safe for babies, but still fashionable for women, with or without children. She started researching and making prototypes, and she realized “there’s something there.” Jones said the reaction to her tuggable jewelry has been positive because “as moms, so many things change, but it’s special to give moms jewelry they can wear (with a baby) that looks like anybody could wear it.” Today, The Jones Market jewelry is sold online and in local retail stores, and the introduction of apparel with the spring line “was very well received,” Jones said. Until 2015, Jones did everything business related, but now she sticks to designing. Assistants, all of whom are moms who can work from home, create the jewelry. “Family first,” she said.