Dreamers, Drivers, Doers

While women play key roles in leading and driving work in companies and organizations, they remain disproportionally underrepresented on boards and committees across for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Enterthe WNLI Board Leadership Initiative, a program with the goal of creating greater access and connectivity between women interested in serving on boards and committees, and companies/or...

Entrepreneurship is not just creating businesses and IPOs from brand new ideas jotted on cocktail napkins. Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) is a growing movement that may be at its most sophisticated right here in Northeast Ohio. ETA provides a path for aspiring entrepreneurs, owners with a desire to exit while leaving their business, employees and partners “intact” and investors who wan...

The ACE Mentor Program is a nationwide program designed to introduce students to the wide range of career opportunities in architecture, construction, engineering and more. The Akron-Canton affiliate was established in 2017, and has provided more than $130,000 in scholarships to over 15 students and guided nearly 370 students through the program. CESO Inc. is a proud sponsor - Business Development...

Renea Woods-Baylor is the third of five generations of entrepreneurs, and she’s been learning about business ever since she was a young girl sitting at the dinner table. She owned an accounting firm for 22 years before stepping away to pursue her true passion: tea. The Tea Lady Inc. is a luxury style English tearoom offering a unique experience for Akronites downtown. In this episode, Renea discus...

The Akron Civic Theatre has had a successful few years following the pandemic, the $9 millionof renovations donein 2021, and the addition of the Knight Stage. And with programming and consulting also done for the GoodyearTheatre and E.J. Thomas Hall, around 550 events are put on each year in total. In this episode, Executive DirectorHoward Parr explains the economic impact that the Civic and other...

Akron RubberDucks President and General Manager Jim Pfander has been with the AA baseball team for 12 years. Canal Park has changed a lot in that time, mainly in its marketing and operations-Jim positions the RubberDucks asnot just a baseball team, andmore of a “collective spirit” for downtown. In this episode, Jim and Steve discuss howthe RubberDucks use out-of-the-box marketing tactics and speci...

Tony Troppe is known throughout Akron for donning various hats: owner, proprietor, developer, creative director, musician... there’s no easy way to explain exactly what Tony does day-to-day. But on a larger scale, he's a passionate change maker looking to make Greater Akron a bright, asset-filled city via arts and entertainment venues and community spaces, mixed-used developments, and green spaces...

The United States’ labor market is continuing to reshape and heal itself following 2022’s “Great Resignation,” butconnecting workers to good in-demand jobs has always been difficult. ConxusNEO seeks to solve this issue inNortheast Ohio by working with partners to generate awareness of in-demand jobs, develop a competitive talent pool,and upskill employed workers. In this episode, Senior Manager of...

PGA Golf at Firestone in July has been a mainstay in the Akron community for over 70 years. In this episode, Steve sits down with Don Padgett, Executive Director of the Kaulig Companies Championship to discuss how the championship and Firestone Country Club delivers visibility, community engagement, and charitable support to the Greater Akron community. Hear more about what to expect at this year’...

Each day we get closer to an AI driven world–and that’s no more apparent than in education and the businessworld. Stark State College has taken a forward-thinking approach in developing programs specifically oriented to AIlearning career readiness. Inthis episode, President of Stark State College Para Jones and ConxusNEO Tech SectorPartnership Senior Manager Amy Neumann sit down with Steve to talk...

Akronites know that our city has a deep and colorful history that's shaped the fabric of our region. In July 2025, the City of Akron will celebrate its 200th birthday with a much-anticipated Bicentennial Celebration! A number of events and historic celebrations will take place aimed at bringing the city together. In this episode, Mark Greer, Executive Director of the Akron Bicentennial talks with...

Dr. Cliff Deveny is the President and CEO of Summa Health, a healthcare delivery system in Northeast Ohio thatserves around 1,000,000 people a year and stands as Greater Akron’s largest employer in the region. Like allindustries, healthcare is continually changing with our evolving world; technology and practices continue to improvealong with cost. Summa Health’s recent acquisition by venture capi...

Rick Small is the Chief Marketing Officer at Grube Inc., a franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings with 68 total locations,including a new sports bar in Cuyahoga Fallsand one of the first Buffalo Wild Wings "Go" locations in country here inAkron. Small champions the importance of connecting with the community despite being a part of a national brand. High school spirit nights, live local music, and weekl...

Amy Mucha can be found at many Greater Akron Chamber events, but there's a chance you've heard of her referredto as the "cake pop lady" more than her actual name. She's the owner of Daisy Pops, a Kent-based cake pop shopthat sells a number of cake-based delicacies and services. If you've ever talked to her, you knowthat "pop" hasbecome a part of her everyday dialogue to the point where she almost...

Headquartered in Akron, Apple Growth Partners (AGP) is an accounting and business advisory firm thatoffers a fullrange of services, primarily to privately held small and mid-size businesses. In this episode, Chairman Chuck Mullen sits down with Steve Millard to discuss how in our ever-changing world, complete with AI other modern technologies ,clients are demanding more... as they should. Chuck ex...

Expanding a Small Business Outside of our RegionLeppo Rents was started nearly 80 years ago by Roy and Stella Leppo as a small Oliver Farm Equipmentdealer. A few decades later, a shift in focus to construction equipment rentals propelled the business intoyears of dynamic growth and expansion. Today, the company has expanded to 10 locations across threestates, while continually altering their busin...

If you follow the Greater Akron Chamber or the Akron business community in general, you may have heardof the Polymer Industry Cluster. Akron has deep rootsin rubber and material science, and today, the regionhas hundreds of businesses, manufacturing plants, and research institutions focused on polymer-basedproduction and sustainability efforts. This led to Greater Akron being designated as a Susta...

Each year, thousands of Summit County individuals are victims of crisis, violence, and tragedy, and manyare unprepared and unequipped to deal with the fallout. Luckily, Summit County has the Victim AssistanceProgram (VAP), a 501(c)(3) non-profit unattached to law enforcement and the court system that offersnonjudgemental crisis intervention and emotional support to victims. In this episode, Steve...

Nothing is certain in life and in business. In this episode of the Dreamers, Drivers, Doers podcast, SteveMillard sits down with Schauer Group President and CEO Joe Schauer to talk about theintricacies ofcommercial insurance and risk management, and the impact Schauer Group has made in Akron, Cantonand Cleveland. The pair also discuss culture in the workplace, internship programs, and how to attra...

Northeast Ohio is on the verge of a historic event-the first total solar eclipse since 1806 is happening onApril 8, and Greater Akron sits in the 115-milewide "path of totality" where the eclipse is viewable. Anothertotal solar eclipse won't happen until 2099, making it a must-see event for people across the country. Hundreds of thousands of guests are expected in Greater Akron for the eclipse, an...

Since the pandemic, businesses have been struggling to figure out the hybrid work environment and how it relates to their commercial spaces. As may be obvious, many businesses have decided to scale down their properties and invest more in other quality of life improvements for their employees, essentially doing more with less. Meanwhile, unused office spaces are being converted to residential, and...

Offering a unique historic experience does numbers in attaching citizens to their community andencouraging outsiders to visit. Greater Akron is chock full of attractionslike this, and the Cuyahoga ValleyScenic Railroad (CVSR) is one that continues to preserve the past while constantly changing andimproving. From the North Pole Adventure to Dinner on the Train, Steve Millard explores how Presidenta...

There's often more to an organization than initially meets the eye. Many of them offer services and products that the public may not even be aware of, making it of utmost importance to market these services to their communities. Steve Millard sits down with Erica Wilson-Domer, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, to discuss how the organization provides and markets a wide array o...

Malleability is an important quality for any business to display-it's not often that you'll find a successfulbusiness that says no to change. Oftentimes, that need for changecomes from adversity or strife, something we've recently seen on a large scale as businesses exited the Covid pandemic with vastly different operations, goals, and functions, as well as a better understanding of their markets....

Interested in buying a business but unsure where to start? Or, are you a business owner without a clear exit strategy in place? While it seems counterintuitive to open a business and think about how you leave the business at the same time, it's important for business owners to be prepared when the unexpected happens. Steve Millard explores the world of business mergers and acquisitions, selling, a...