Helping out
In an effort to encourage employees to help the victims of the Sept. 11 tragedy, Akron-based Smithers Scientific Services Inc. agreed to match employee donations to the relief effort by 2 to 1, up to $10,000 from the employees.
Within days after the crisis, Smithers employees were encouraged to make tax-free contributions through a payroll deduction over the next three months. President and CEO Michael Hochschwender promised employees the total contribution would be sent directly to the victims and the rescue workers in New York and Washington, D.C.
As of early October, the company had received nearly $10,000 from 88 of its 300 employees, for a total donation from Smithers of $30,000.
New name, same game
At a special meeting in late September, the membership of the Akron Regional Development Board voted to change the organization’s name to the Greater Akron Chamber.
The name change was recommended by the ARDB’s executive committee to help clarify the 25-year-old organization’s functions. The new name and logo will be phased in over the next few months.
The mission of the chamber remains the same, says CEO and President Daniel Colantone, “to attract and retain business in the Medina, Portage and Summit County region.”
The ARDB was formed in 1975 through a merger of the Area Progress Board and the Akron Area Chamber of Commerce.
