Our Growth Report: New Editorial Content, Tressel Podcast and 40 Years

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – New Year’s is a time for reflection and new beginnings. Here at The Business Journal, we will do both throughout 2024.  

We will recognize your growth and milestones with two Growth Report issues in January and February and celebrate our 40-year anniversary with a keepsake double issue in July.

“Without a doubt, my 40 years with The Business Journal are filled with memorable moments – industry closures, manufacturing rebirth and a host of colorful characters,” says Andrea Wood, president and publisher of The Business Journal. “Through it all, the entrepreneurial spirit and business leadership in the Valley refused to quit. We made it our mission to make these stories our niche.”

Throughout 2024, we will mark “40 Years of The Business Journal” with stories that look back at economic development projects, newsmakers and characters that have made the Mahoning Valley what it is today, as well as take a fun look at blunders and flops through the years (including some editorials we wish we hadn’t written). The double issue in July promises to be a keepsake edition full of blasts from the past and incisive forward-looking commentary.

The headline sponsor of “40 Years of The Business Journal” is Compco, the Columbiana-based manufacturer of tank heads. Two years after the Youngstown Publishing Co. was founded, the owner of Compco, Clarence R. Smith Jr., and his right-hand man, Arnold Collins, both deceased, were early investors and provided the financial backbone for the enduring success of the company. Another early and long-standing supporter of The Business Journal, 717 Credit Union, is a participating sponsor.

Retired Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel will join us on our 2024 journey with a new podcast feature. He’ll talk to leaders in various endeavors with instructional discussion on the topic of “Teamwork.” Stay tuned for more information about this initiative early in 2024.

Starting with Growth Report 1, published Jan. 23, we will publish more than 250 stories that celebrate the achievements of economic and community development organizations, nonprofits and educational institutions. Growth Report 2, published Feb. 13, will share the accomplishments of business and industry. To submit story information relative to these editions, click on the links in this paragraph. (The story submission deadline for GR1 is Jan. 10; GR 2 is Jan. 31.)

Among our new editorial campaigns this new year is “Repopulation and Workforce Development.” This content expands and reinvents our successful “Brain Gain” coverage. How does our community entice and acclimate new residents? Can we welcome immigrants to our workforce? What needs to be done to provide the housing and lifestyle amenities they need? We’ll go in-depth.

We’ll also look at where we live, taking a fascinating deep dive into “Our Towns: What’s in a Name?” These stories and videos will give a historical perspective of our neighborhoods and small communities throughout the region, crossroads named to reflect those who came to the area or the ideals they established here.

From the local to the global, “Doing Business Globally: How the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys Connect to the World” will tell how the region supplies goods and services to the rest of the world. And as foreign investment here continues to grow, we’ll introduce readers to new companies from around the globe making a home here.Also, a new app will allow our subscribers to seamlessly access their favorite content. Stay tuned!

But first on our agenda is Growth Report 1: Economic and Community Development edition. Our 2024 theme is “The Transformation Advances.” Tell us how your organization is transforming our region. Then comes Growth Report 2: Business & Industry Edition. Companies of all sizes will share their successes in 2023 and their 2024 transformation plans.

There is no charge to send story information – a Word file to [email protected] – but you must meet the deadlines. (Refer to above links.)

Thank you for your support – and 40 years of The Business Journal!

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.