GCACC Business Connection Magazine | June 2024

Member Spotlights

Chamber Open

Recent Ribbon Cuttings

Our Members Say

Meet Our Educational Partners

Chamber Foundation News

WELEAD Recap Memories of Zamarelli’s Butterfly Boutique From the Editor’s Desk

Population: 42,757*

Median Age: 40.1

Population Over 18: 79.5%

Population Over 65: 17.7%

Number of Households: 18,469*

Median Home Value: $244,151

Average Income Per Household: $111,247

Nearest Intermodal Facility: Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK) and Norfolk Southern Rickenbacker Intermodal

Want to learn more about the demographics of Grove City? Visit our resources online

CHAMBER DESK

Letter from the President Member Anniversaries A special note from Shawn Conrad Welcome new and celebrate current members

Grove City Methodist Hospital (Located behind Target)

The OhioHealth Grove City Methodist Hospital campus includes 24/7 emergency care, heart and vascular care, and primary care from OhioHealth Physician Group. It’s just another way we’re bringing your best health within reach.

To learn more about the ways OhioHealth cares for Grove City, visit OhioHealth.com/GroveCity.

YOUR CHAMBER

Chamber Business Connections is published bi-monthly by the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce with revenue from member dues, advertising, and sponsorship. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the content in this publication, by any method or purpose whatsoever, without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Only Chamber members can advertise in Chamber Business Connection. To discuss advertising opportunities, contact the Chamber (614-8759762).

Your Board

Katie Antry Fleming Board Chair

Chris Moscato

Immediate Past Chair

Mellissa Forte Board Chair Elect

Greg Dawkins GC Chamber Foundation President

Nick Connaughton Chair of Finance

Jeffrey Buskirk Chair of Government Relations

Ed Fleming Board Member

Nikki Fleming Board Member

Lenny Frazzitta Board Member

Cathy Frederick Board Member

Brittany Hannigan Board Member

Amanda McCullouch Board Member

Brenda Newman Board Member

Carol Riffle Board Member

Andrea Ruede Board Member

Staff

President / CEO

Shawn Conrad

Events Manager

Marilyn Reiner

Events Operations and Marketing

Heather Brokaw

Member Services and Marketing

Kaziah Conrad

Letter from the President

Spring is in bloom, and all the wonderful aspects of spring and summer have arrived. Among these cherished spring traditions is the renowned Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce Farmers' Market.

This multi-award-winning market operates every Saturday morning from 8 am to noon. Vendors line both sides of Broadway, Park Street, and the entire Promenade, creating a homey atmosphere.

Currently, there are nearly 80 local vendors participating, and more are scheduled to join as the season progresses. Our local farmers, bakers, and vendors offer a wide range of products, including beef, pork, chicken, eggs, bread, baked goods, freshly grown fruits and vegetables of various kinds, jams, jellies, salsas, spices, seasonings, sauces, coffee, dog treats, incredible cheeses, fresh lemonade, kettle corn, cut flowers, and potted plants.

If you can't wait to get home to enjoy your goodies, you can grab a delicious breakfast or lunch from one of our Town Center Restaurants or our Market Food Truck.

By shopping at our Farmers' Market, you are showing your support for local and small businesses.

Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, Mount Carmel, and all of our generous sponsors.

Celebrating Anniversaries

1 YEAR:

Capital City Staffing Solutions

Realty Forward

The Rollhouse

Monterey Care Center

Pizza Cottage

Global Services of Ohio

Rannebarger Home Maintenance

Coldwell Banker | Brittany Lykins

J&J Auto Upholstery

ProCore Health Brokers

Emerge Real Estate Results

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Centers of Ohio

Supreme Touch Health Services Corp

Cardinal Pressure Washing

KatBro

5 YEARS: 20 YEARS: 15 YEARS:

The Number Masters

Primrose School at Pinnacle

Jay-Car Construction Company

Falcon Heating and Air

WesBanco Bank

Heartland Bank | Grove City

Credit Union of Ohio

Grove City Dental

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Whole 9 Yards Cleaning

Commercial Lighting & Electric

Just-A-Mere Farm

Wessler Engineering

Goodwill Columbus

Schmidt's Sausage Haus

Jami the Gypsy Designs

Quick Square

Donnell Thomas Law

Challengers Tree and Landscaping Service

Nick Connaughton

Attention new Chamber members!

Don’t forget that your GCACC membership includes one free half-page ad for this publication, the Chamber Business Connection, so don’t miss out on running your ad in one of the upcoming 2024 issues.

Ads due on the 15th of the month prior to publication. Issues publish in even-numbered months.

All ads can be submitted digitally via email to Heather, heather@gcchamber org

Need an ad? E-magazine creative team KatBro can lend a hand contact content@katbroconsulting com

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

WESSLER ENGINEERING

Wessler Engineering stands by “there is no water problem we can’t solve together”, showcasing their focus on water as a civil and environmental engineering firm. Specifically their water projects have included wastewater, drinking water, and storm water, but they offer additional services as well. In addition to their office here in Grove City, Wessler also has offices in Bluffton, Ohio and across Indiana stretching from West Lafayette in the north to Evansville in the south.

3148 Broadway Unit 307, Grove City 614-300-6586 www.wesslerengineering.com/

CHALLENGER’S TREE SERVICE

Challenger’s Tree Service is family-owned, fully-licensed and insured, and ready to take on a variety of tree projects at your residential or commercial property. Common projects include tree/stump removal, stump grinding, tree and bush trimming, tree pruning and thinning. Challenger’s is also up to the challenge of post-storm tree removal, trimming, or clean up in more of an emergency capacity; a special form is online for storm damage or other hazard-related tree removals.

1623 Marlane Dr, Grove City 614-778-3359

THE NUMBER MASTERS

The Number Masters offer affordable accounting, tax, and payroll solutions with the goal of giving business owners more time to work and grow their business and less time spent crunching the numbers Together, this mother-daughter team has over 30 years of experience in the accounting industry They also offer notary services and QuickBooks training in addition to their other accounting and tax prep services

3325 Highland St, Grove City 614-991-4480

https://the-number-masters com/

Don’t miss this year’s Chamber Open

Registration is now open for next month’s Chamber Open golf outing at Hickory Hills Golf Club.

Trade in your office for the golf course on Monday July 15 for a great day on the links. Bring your co-workers along to form a team and spend the day bonding. Plenty of opportunities will be available to network with others, and there’s always plenty of delicious food to be had at the Chamber Open.

A portion of proceeds from this year’s Chamber Open will go to the Grove City Buddy Ball program. Buddy Ball’s program ensures baseball can be enjoyed by all regardless of ability. Teams in the program play on Mirolo Dream Field at Mount Carmel Stadium, which is customdesigned, rubberized surface that can accommodate wheelchair and other assistive devices. Kids and kids at heart who’ve dreamed of hitting a line drive or rounding third to head home have that opportunity thanks to Buddy Ball.

Thank you to the following sponsors who have committed to a Chamber Open sponsorship as of press time: City Scene Media Group, Franklin County Banking Center, Wessler Engineering, and Wright Graphic Design. There is still room and time for others to come on board as a sponsor, and the Chamber would love to have you! Contact the Chamber Office at 614-875-9762.

GROUND BREAKINGS AND RIBBON CUTTINGS

It’s an exciting time of year to celebrate businesses, and lately we’ve been able to do just that, in addition to add to our calendar of coming openings.

On April 11, we celebrated the ribbon cutting opening for PetSuites Grove City. They offer boarding and daycare services for both dogs and cats, in addition to grooming and training for dogs. They’re located at 1280 Stringtown Road.

On May 11, we celebrated the ribbon cutting opening for Butterfly Boutique. This shop offers farm fresh flowers, a variety of delightful (and local) gifts, and custom floral arrangements. They’re located in Historic Town Center at 4038 Broadway.

Still to come this summer: Epcon will hold a ribbon cutting event for their newest community, The Courtyards at Mulberry Run on June 19. For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/942803680912016/

Goodwill Grove City is currently on schedule to open its doors in mid-July. Keep an eye on this calendar entry for updates as we have them: https://business.gcchamber.org/events/details/goodwill-grove-city-opens-4158? calendarMonth=2024-07-01

ChamberCelebratingaMilestone? complimentaryMembers,didyouknowweoffer leadershipparticipationatyour grandopening,ribboncutting,orotherevents? Boostyourvisibilityandgainvaluablesupport! calendarJustcontactustoaddyoureventtoour andconnectwiththeChamberteam.Together,let'smakeyoureventasuccess!

OUR MEMBERS SAY...

This time around in picking a question, we thought about the quarterly Get to Know Your Customers Day which appears on ‘quirky’ day calendars such as National Day Calendar. If someone’s putting this on the calendar four times (even if with other off-beat holidays like Orange Soda or Talk Like a Pirate days), then maybe we should think about how we get to know and connect with our clients and customers. Below, a few members chimed in with their thoughts, and we added a few more tips we’ve sourced from within our team.

Want to weigh in on August’s question and have your response seen in this space? Next issue we’re talking about customer appreciation, visit this link to share your thoughts: https://forms.gle/Tjn1fWD14613tZiW7

Most of our business is online, however, we are working hard to increase our presence in the local community. We are talking with everyone we can about who we are and what we can do to help their needs. Learning as much as we can about what people in the community are looking for when it comes to gifts unique items has boiled down to simple conversations and our current clients telling their friends to check us out! It has definitely led to some great and growing relationships.

-Remember Me Gifts

Breathworx614 offers free discovery calls to learn about clients' lives, their challenges and concerns, and their goals for their life. In addition, Breathworx614 creates a well-being community through social media engagement, electronic newsletters, hosting community events, and offering free virtual breathwork via Zoom and YouTube

-Tiffany Berger, owner of Breathworx614

Let conversation get a little off-topic in the basic areas of favorite things You’ll also learn how this client/customer likes to communicate or their communication habits if a short phone call could easily become two hours or if you need to ask very specific questions to understand what they need from you/your business

Encourage engagement on social media by posting open-ended questions or other opportunities for your customers to weigh in about their favorites. This can also help you with new ideas and potential directions for your business.

BUSINESS RESOURCES

Education Partners Grow to Four Local Institutions

“Through discussion with Chamber members, we recognized the need to bring something of value to our members that they in turn would share with their employees,” said Shawn Conrad, GCACC President/CEO.

Shawn shared that many employees are unaware if their workplace/employer is a GCACC member, and from there are unsure what that means to them or if it matters. Adding an educational benefit of use to employees begins to answer “why does it matter?”.

After the Franklin partnership was established and captured attention, the Ohio Dominican partnership was established in a similar spirit, though each university having their own unique offerings. CCAD and Capital have followed suit with their own unique offerings for Chamber members.

To bring a quality benefit program to life, Shawn said the Chamber’s Benefits Committee is hard at work seeing what is current, but what is also becoming a trend across Chambers and what shows potential local interest.

“Through relations with our members, we listen, and learn about their interests and needs,” she said.

While the Capital partnership falls in similar line with the Franklin and Ohio Dominican partnerships, the Columbus College of Art and Design partnership is a bit more unique both in subject matter and even how it came about. Shawn shared that the CCAD partnership was fostered by a long-standing relationship with a member who began working at CCAD, and the pieces came into place.

The CCAD degree is in User Experience (UX) Design, bringing a new subject matter to the ‘benefit table’ as the other three commonly focus on business, tech, or healthcare areas. But it was important to Shawn and others to bring in something a little bit different to reach a new segment of Chamber members.

“Any time we can identify and add a new benefit or opportunity to our members’ portfolio of benefits, we count that as an additional value for our members,” she said.

In this issue of Chamber Business Connection, members can view the flyers for the new partnerships with Capital and CCAD. To view information about the partnerships with Franklin and/or Ohio Dominican, visit: www.gcchamber.org/education/ Members will have a chance to learn about a multitude of benefits offered by the Chamber later this month at the Member Benefits Fair and Picnic on Tuesday June 11 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Grove City. Visit the event page to learn more: https://business.gcchamber.org/events/details/member-benefits-fairand-picnic-4009?calendarMonth=2024-06-01

AnothersuccessfulWE:LEAD Women’sBusinessForum

The We:LEAD Annual Women’s Business Forum took place on May 8th at the Aladdin Shrine Event Center in Grove City, Ohio. Organized by the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce, this signature event is dedicated to opening dialogue, bringing together, and empowering women in business. The forum featured an inspiring lineup of speakers and breakout sessions aimed at fostering growth, networking, and leadership among women in the business community.

This year’s keynote speaker was Jennifer Kelley, PHR, SHRMCP, an HR Consultant for My Business Resource. Jen delivered an inspiring address on intergenerational communication, emphasizing the importance of understanding and bridging generational gaps in the workplace.

The day began with a scholarship acceptance by Madison Dunn, a local high school graduate who received the We:LEAD scholarship from the Grove City Chamber Foundation. Dunn shared her plans for college and her educational aspirations, setting a motivational tone for the event.

Alex Varney from Pinnacle Pets Play & Stay kicked off the breakout sessions. Alex’s session, "Personalized Leadership: Unlocking Potential Through Connection," explored strategies for empathetically engaging with individuals to unlock their potential. This was followed by a panel discussion titled Connecting Across the Generations featuring a diverse group of women from different generations discussing the challenges and benefits of intergenerational collaboration.

Amy Ankerson, General Manager of Eldorado Scioto Downs, shared her compelling journey in her presentation, "The Woman in the Arena." Amy spoke about her experience as a female leader in a predominantly male industry, balancing her career with her roles as a wife and mother, and battling breast cancer.

After lunch, Sue Hiser presented "The Generations: How We Are Separated and What Will Bring Us Together." Sue discussed the dynamics that shape generational perspectives and behaviors, offering strategies for fostering intergenerational connections.

The forum concluded with an interactive session led by Jennifer Kelley, where participants separated into groups based on their generation–Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, to discuss their unique attributes and how best to communicate across generations.

This year's event was sponsored by Eldorado Gaming, CityScene, Personal Healthcare Concierge, Air Quality Solutions, and Butterfly Boutique. The We:LEAD Annual Women’s Business Forum successfully reinforced the Chamber's mission to support and develop women in business, providing valuable knowledge, skills, and a strong sense of community among participants.

For more details on the event and future programs, visit the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce website (https://www.gcchamber.org/wbf/). Plenty more photos can also be found in the Facebook album, facebook.com/gcchamber

Farmers Market Open for Business

Another year of the Grove City Farmers’ Market is up and running, with this year making the 35th edition of the Market

This year’s Market is already proving to be massive with many vendors and a large portion of the Historic Town Center in use for vendor spaces. If you’re following along on Facebook, you’ll notice each week has a vendor map to let you know where to find your favorites or soon-to-be favorites!

Throughout the season (which runs until mid-September), shoppers will find locally-grown and locally-made meats, produce, and more The “and more” ranges from baked goods to jams and even some treats that are for four-legged friends. Some vendors may only be present on select weekends, so shoppers are encouraged to come often to check for their favorites!

Locally grown produce will be available based on the Ohio growing season Early picks include asparagus and strawberries, while other favorites will begin sprouting further into June Summertime favorites sweet corn and melons will begin to appear sometime in July and into August, while sunflower and some early pumpkins may appear in the final weeks of the Market Produce availability is greatly affected by weather, so the visit the Market weekly, chat with produce vendors about growing progress, and keep up with the Market online using the methods below:

Website: https://www.gcchamber.org/farmers-market/ Facebook: @grovecityfarmersmarket or search “Grove City Chamber Farmers Market”

We would love to have you as a volunteer for this season’s Market as well This is a great opportunity to get to know the community, meet the vendors before the market officially opens, and even another way to get your business’s name out there. For anyone needing volunteer hours (such as students for school or scouts), the Chamber team will be happy to sign off on any proof of volunteer work forms Sign up for a volunteer spot today: https://www signupgenius com/go/30E054BAAAE22A6F58-48078363-2024#/

The Market wouldn’t be possible without the support of our many sponsors. The Chamber would like to thank the following sponsors: (Presenting Sponsor) Mount Carmel Grove City (Farm to Table Sponsors) City Scene Media Group, Dedicated Senior Medical Center in partnership with OhioHealth, Wright-Patt Credit Union (Sunrise Sponsors): Aladdin Shriners, Auto Service Experts by Sanderson Automotive, Butterfly Boutique, Credit Union of Ohio, First Service Federal Credit Union, FedEx, Hirth Norris & Garrison, Little Theatre off Broadway, Mid-Ohio Food Collective, Pathways Financial Credit Union, SERVPRO, Shepherd Insurance Partners, WesBanco, Wright Graphic Design, ZCI General Contracting (Market Supporters): Cruise Planners-David Todd, Edward Jones-Chris Gourley, HealthMarkets, Heritage Cycles, Houk Certified Public Accountant, KatBro, Leavitt Group Midwest, Morley Parren Bright Insurance, Personal Healthcare Concierge.

Memories from Zamarelli’s

It’s always sad to see a beloved business close, but after over 60 years as arguably one of the very best pizza shops in Grove City, I guess Jack and Tina deserve a little break. I’m of course talking about Grove City’s legendary Zamarelli’s Pizza Palace. In this issue of Chamber Business Connection we’ve compiled a write-up along with many testimonials and remembrances.

Jack and Tina, you have made Grove City a better place and have left and enduring legacy of community support.

We will all miss Zam’s, but we all wish you the very best in your very well-deserved retirement.

-Shawn Conrad

At the end of March, longtime Grove City pizza favorite Zamarelli’s Pizza Palace served up its final pies as owners Jack and Tina Mittendorf plan to move along to the retirement chapter of life. Zamarelli’s first opened its doors roughly 60 years ago, Jack and Tina met there, and then eventually took over the family business from Tina’s father.

While we were unable to partake in the “breaking news” coverage of this event, we have been able to pull together a collection of memories from our community. But perhaps letting the community tell the story is even better given the massive role Zamarelli’s has held in Grove City for over a half century. Pies from Zam’s have been your family traditions, your Friday favorites, and your celebratory meals. Just as Zamarelli’s the business went from Tina’s father to her and Jack, the tradition of Zamarelli’s has been passed from parent to child (and even grandchild) in the community.

Thanks to everyone who submitted their memories to us, and thank you of course to Jack and Tina for providing the pizza and service that made those memories possible.

Jack and Tina have been friends for many years. Picking up a pizza was a chance to catch up on life, kids, health and family. Lots of great memories just waiting in line for pick up. We'll miss them! Wishing the family much happiness and rest! Thanks for the memories, Zammy's.

-Kelley Danneman Davidson

I am an engineer for CSX Railroad and years ago I ran the route on the tracks by Zams. I remember stopping the train once or twice right in front to go in and pick up a pizza for the conductor and myself. :) They were always delicious!

-Chris Witcher

Zamarelli's was our Friday night pizza growing up. My dad, Bob Willis, graduated with Jack in 1973. My dad was in Ireland when he heard about Zamarelli's closing and text me to get him some pizza so 2 days before they closed I was in line at 2pm waiting until they opened at 4pm. I remember watching Jack and the rest of class of 1973 all playing in the Alumni softball tournament together. -Shanna Crawford

When my grandchildren spent the night with me, we would walk across the railroad tracks and get Zamarelli's all the time. They were a Grove City icon and will be greatly missed! -Shelley Davis

Friday nights! My family moved to a house on 665 in 1963, and the smell of a big ole pizza from Zamarellis was reason for major happiness. Even though my Dad always insisted on anchovies “only on half!” In more recent years my extended family would make sure we had Zam’s on the Friday night of all our reunions in Grove City- including not just pizza, but spaghetti and meatballs, subs and that little carton crammed with salad! The smells took me right back to 1963. Thanks for the memories, Zamarellis! -Cathy Boggs Dwane

We grew up with the Zamarelli Girls and my earliest memories would date back to the beginning. It was usually Friday nights when I was growing up. We continued to the end and would always order our pizza crispy, not burnt. As a celebration of my 65th birthday month this May I did freeze a pepperoni pizza and we had it on 5/1/24. It was delicious. Will miss them terribly and I haven't found anything that meets their pepperoni, sausage and sauce. I so appreciated the support they provided to the Catholic church and our first responders. & I'm sure many other donations/charities. Thank you Tina and Jack. -Sue Fraley

We lived nextdoor to Jack before he married Tina way back. It has been fun over the years to hear him ask, "how's your dad" from time to time. He always remembered our last names.

-The Helsel Family

My father asked his mother back in the 1960s when Zamarelli's first opened, if she wanted to try a pizza pie. His mother was disgusted at the thought of a pie with tomato sauce and cheese. After trying a slice, she was hooked and ate it almost weekly for the rest of her life.

-Amy Hipple

I loved the way Jack and Tina always called me by name when I picked up my pizza. It made me feel special. And, of course, I always enjoyed eating my Zamarelli''s pizza.

-Margie Dooley

The Zamarelli's were much more like family than they were a business. I remember when my Grandpa passed, that enormous quantities of food showed up from Mr. Zamarelli to feed us all. Later on, when Jack and Tina were running the business, they catered our wedding rehearsal dinner, and have been part of many family celebrations since. I wish them all the best!

-Jeff Kocks

Catch the beauty of Butterfly Boutique

By Sarah Hann

Even a rainy day can’t dampen the joy, beauty, and charm that comes from the Butterfly Boutique now open in Grove City’s Historic Town Center

Setting up shop in the front portion of Sommer House, Butterfly Boutique offers a multitude of farm-fresh floral options, various gift items, and many locally-produced products Owner Katie Antry-Fleming said it all started with a family conversation a year ago about owning a flower farm.

As Katie, and her husband Ed, began to connect and converse with Sommer House owner Rebecca Sommer, opportunity began to reveal itself as Rebecca sought someone to take on the front half storefront so she could focus on framing The opportunity was more formally presented to Katie in the form of a Christmas gift from Ed a vintage typewriter and a typed letter covering Rebecca’s offer and his own support.

With the framing business still in the back, Rebecca’s support has been continuous like a mentor of sorts While Katie has known business before from real estate, Rebecca showed her the ropes of having this kind of business with a storefront with daily operations, merchandising, and the like

But the interest in a flower farm or farm-fresh floral shop didn’t happen overnight. Katie’s love of flowers and gardening flourished over the years when the interest was kick-started at home at a home with a less-than-lovely landscape situation

“I really got into gardening when my kids were little,” she said in addition to her motivation to fix a landscape she otherwise hated From there, her love of flowers took off.

Katie and Butterfly Boutique showcase a love of flowers, but there’s also a love of local Many items including cards, shirts, and few familiar Farmers’ Market favorites are available at Butterfly Boutique as Katie leans into local partnerships Currently two local flower farmers supply the flowers, in addition to Katie has grown herself.

As a real estate agent, and also the current Chamber Board Chair, she’s been able to use prior connections in new ways that can benefit everyone For some, this includes the opportunity to have daily and even year-round sales and opportunity to be seen by new customers

“Grove City is really good at supporting businesses,” she said of the local support.

“Grove City is really good at supporting businesses.”

And local support was obvious on our visit, that despite the gloomy weather familiar faces dropped in to say hello. Some will say a quick “hi” and others might stick around for a while to chat and soak in the charm of Butterfly Boutique—a friend of Katie’s calls it a secret garden.

This leads to another avenue of the business Katie intends to foster—the opportunity to gather.

With a few parties under the belt now, Butterfly Boutique is available to host small gatherings such as birthday parties, bridal teas, or even networking and mentoring sessions. The space can host up to 12 attendees and with the big dining tables, it adds a home-y touch like Mom or Grandma’s kitchen table.

The flower bar can be put to use for custom arrangement parties in-house, or Katie can load it up with supplies for an off-site floral arrangement event. She’s had a few of these opportunities so far and looks forward to more as summer and prime flower season approaches.

Paired with parties or not, seasonal fun is certainly in store. Katie has some fun visions in mind for Halloween and Christmas, but knows it’s time to zero in on summer and all the fun it brings. She recently completed Prom flowers and as we chatted she had some graduation floral arrangements coming up next. Smaller weddings are also in the cards for Butterfly Boutique and Katie looks forward to the unique and creative requests she’ll receive down the road.

A place for flowers, for local goods, for creating, and for gathering, it all comes together to make Butterfly Boutique “more than a retail shop, but an experience.”

Learn even more about Butterfly Boutique at: https://www.butterflygc.com/

Balancing Family & Business

Katie and Ed have a big family (as in, five kids). I’ve known this for a couple years now, so I had to ask the million dollar question of how they balance it all and any tips to share. Ed actually walked in shortly after this conversation began —wild timing that also brought out Katie’s earlier point of anyone and everyone dropping by the shop! Here’s a few take home points for anyone else wondering how bigger families and business operations are juggled:

“We make sure family comes first”: Katie pointed out they take advantage of owning their businesses/making their own hours and will tweak work days as needed. She gave me an example of how that day would be adjusted so to make it to one of their kids’ concerts. Family will always come first.

Divide and conquer with all hands on deck: Katie pointed out that the times do arise when she and Ed have to divide and conquer rather than both of them being at something. Her parents and her in-laws are also local and sometimes it’s all hands on deck to get everyone everywhere.

“You just go”: Both Katie and Ed expressed a focus and mentality of just keep going, and that if they stopped too long then things might get out of hand. In family or business, continuing to move ahead with the momentum you’ve built is so important.

FOUNDATION NEWS

GC Chamber Foundation Awards Spring Scholarships

The Grove City Chamber Foundation awarded its spring round of scholarships in late JUNE, with scholarships going to high school seniors in the class of 2024, and various students affiliated with the Chamber.

At the award reception, $17,000 was awarded to 33 students. To date, this brings the total the Foundation has awarded since its founding in 2012 to $187,000 and 303 recipients.

Eligible high school students are graduating seniors who currently attend/will graduate this spring from a school in the South-Western City School Attendance area (public or private), or will graduate from a school outside the attendance area but reside in Grove City.

Eligible affiliate students fit one of the following descriptions: are a current employee of a Chamber member business/organization, are an existing individual Chamber member, or are an immediate family member of such an employee or individual member. This type of scholarship has become popular for employees of Chamber member businesses/organizations to pay for technical certificate training, to finish a bachelor’s degree, or pursue a master’s degree.

The next round of scholarship applications, the Renewal Scholarship and second quarter Affiliate Scholarship, are due on Friday June 14. The Affiliate Scholarship is the same as described above, and the Renewal Scholarship is intended to renew previous scholarship awarded; please review its specific requirements online. Visit https://gcchamberfoundation.org/scholarships/ view eligibility information and to access and submit the applications.

The Foundation would like to recognize and thank the many sponsors who make awarding these scholarships possible, including those who have chosen to support the Foundation with a named scholarship either for their business or to carry on the memory and legacy of a loved one.

The Foundation is pleased to congratulate the following students who were awarded the following scholarships at the spring reception.

FOUNDATION NEWS

Designated/Named Scholarships

Heart of the Foundation in the name of Sharon Downs: Rohit Basu

Creative Mobile Interiors: Aiden Louis Eckel and Landon Vandegrift

Credit Union of Ohio: Kalyan Henson and Evan Rardon

Franklin County Banking Center: Anyelis Gonzalez-Guilarte

Fred Jahn Reiner Memorial: Abby Fisher

Gary Gabriel: Ava Garringer

Grove City Smiles: Hannah Rauch

KEMBA: Juan Valle Neito

Shirley Spellman Memorial: Savannah Gullion

Telhio: Emily Knapp

WELEAD: Madison Dunn

WesBanco: Austin Issacs and Jude Kasan

Chamber Affiliate Scholarship recipients:

Alex Blain

Kaleb Coakley

Ava Holser

Nicholas Garcia

Shaina Rowe

Abbygail Tier

Kara Wilmoth

High School Senior Scholarships:

Layne Becerril-Barrera

Bryce Escue

Danica Harbin

Aubree Hester

Olivia Noonan

Angeliz Rivera-Martinez

Katelynn Rock

Stehen Sheets

Jocelin Shoopman

Benjamin Turek

Leonela Zuniga

(Removable Ad Piece)

(Removable Peel-Off Card)

HYDRATE GROVE CITY

A Member-exclusive opportunity presented by The Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce Each pallet consists of 16.9 fl. oz. bottles of water with labels customized for YOUR business

FUNDRAISER LABEL

LABEL BUSINESS CARD LABEL

Trackable QR code; Weekly reporting on engagement and click-through-rates

FREE artwork + design setup. Your logo & preferred wording on each label

FREE delivery of finished product to location of your choosing

Can be delivered to schools, non-profits, etc , to distribute or sell for fundraising

Offer peelable, saveable coupon/discount on your label

Your business card formatted onto a peelable, saveable label

FULL PALLET $1,550 HALF PALLET $775 Thanks to our partnership with Hydration Nation, Chamber Members' water pallets have been distributed at local hotels, sports tournaments at Berliner Park, and public highvisibility events!

Member Opportunities Abound

By Sarah Hann

Five years ago from mid-May (so, five years and a few weeks ago as you read this), I was in Florida with friend and co-worker Danielle for a years-in-the-making mother-daughter Disney World trip. Eager to check on things at home while in the Mouse’s House, we discovered a work email that seemed promising for a new opportunity for KatBro.

The new opportunity in said email included writing this e-magazine. I believe next issue will officially mark our fifth e-magazine birthday. I don’t know if I’ll reminisce on the previous five years, but I have every intention of celebrating with cake.

Additionally, between last issue’s letter and this one, if you want to believe my life consists of writing and Disney trips, you’re technically not wrong… the December 2019 issue was partially written from there.

But let’s shift back to the opportunity part…

Opportunities are abundantly included in this e-magazine issue. Katie’s Butterfly Boutique originated in an opportunity from Sommer House’s owner Rebecca. Jack and Tina Mittendorf took on the opportunity to own and operate Zamarelli’s Pizza Palace when Tina’s father saw it as time to retire. Our WE:LEAD speakers jumped on the opportunity to put their names in for consideration, members have countless opportunities to engage with fellow members, and even community members took the opportunity to share their stories of Zamarelli’s as we bid them a fond farewell.

Are you jumping on the opportunities presented, or jumping quick to pass them off to someone else? It can be so challenging to see which ones are worthwhile and which ones should be tabled or even best left to someone else. But we can explore. We can attend more Chamber networking events. We can say “I’ll hear you out” if someone extends us a business partnership opportunity. We can thoughtfully consider the opportunities that come across our paths so we can tell which ones are for us and in this season.

The GCACC has countless opportunities within membership to be explored. As seen in this issue, we’re up to four higher education partnerships, and the Chamber Foundation offers additional opportunities to pay for said educations. The coming Member Benefit Picnic on June 11 will be packed with opportunities, and if golf is remotely your thing, you might not want to pass on the Chamber Open next month.

From the smallest daily moment to the big business moves, let’s embrace the opportunities that come our way or we’ve been able to create for ourselves and even others.

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Buy tickets to our Annual Fundraiser Dinner & Show Dinner * Dancing * Silent & Live Auctions * Raffles https://gcchamberfoundation.org/foundation-fundraiser/

Buy apparel, blankets & more through our online store. tinyurl.com/gccfshop

Now selling a local favorite - Silverbridge coffee. Every bag (or box) of coffee you buy goes towards scholarships for 2024. Visit our site at https://gccfcoffee.square.site

As a member of GCACC you are offered discounted advertising within the chamber produced publications; our Business Connection E-Magazine, Business Weekly Connection e-newsletter, AND our social media channels. We are already reaching your target audience in the Grove City and Central Ohio area. Partner with your chamber by purchasing an annual ad package and save

O U R R E A C H

20,000+ 5,000+ 1,700 +

Ad Placement Pricing & Sizing

Full Page Inside Front Cover | 8 5x11 | $360

Full Page Inside Pages | 8.5x11 | $240

Half Page (Horizontal) | 8.5x5.5 | $170

1/3 Page (Vertical) | 2.83x10 | $130

Quarter Page | 4 25x5 5 | $90

Artwork is due by the 20th of each month.

Looking for help with your ad artwork? Contact Katbro for discounted ad design. www.Katbroconsulting.com

Artwork Requirements:

Please submit in .jpg or .pdf format

For print ads please submit artwork files in 300 dpi, CMYK and embedded fonts format

For digital ads please submit artwork files in 72 dpi, RGB format Word documents are NOT accepted

Ads sent in are subject to final approval by the Chamber Business Connection magazine editing staff