CEOs You Should Know - Mansfield

Melanie Miller, Ohio State Representative (67th District), covers all of Ashland County and a portion of Medina County. Miller was born in Brook Park, near Cleveland, attended Mid Park High School and graduated from Cleveland State University. Melanie was named Miss Ohio in 2006, calling it her favorite job! Learn the entire story of Melanie, her family, what she is currently working on and much m...

Jordon Wurthmann, Vice President of Business Development, at Purdy Construction shares the story of the company, which is now in their 100th year. Jordon talks about the very first project, to the now 300+, that they complete annually. Jordon's family is involved in the company, which is working on some cool projects in Mansfield right now. Listen to learn more about Purdy Construction, and Jordon...

Phil Naumoff is one of two, Richland County Common Pleas Court judges, in the general division. Phil was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and moved to Mansfield when he was a young child. Naumoff has been a judge for approaching 5 years. Phil is a graduate of Malabar High School, Miami University in Ohio and the Toledo College of Law. Naumoff is married and has a children, along with one grandchil...

Brent Robinson is a judge in the Richland County Common Pleas Court. Robinson is in the general division and has been on the bench since 2014. Brent was born in Mansfield and is a graduate of Lexington high school . Robinson attended college at Otterbein and law school at Capital University. Learn more about Brent, his family, how many cases he handles in a year and all of the duties of a local ju...

Jim Cutright is the President and CEO of the Ashland County Community Foundation. Jim has been a part of the organization since it was founded back in 1995. The Ashland County Community Foundation has had incredible growth in recent years, which has allowed for numerous scholarship grants and other projects to help improve the community. Jim was born in Mansfield and went to Plymouth High School....

Jodie Schumacher took the oath of office as Richland County Prosecutor in May of 2023. Jodie has spent close to 20 years working in a total of 3 county prosecutor's offices in the state of Ohio. Schumacher was born in Northwest Ohio and attended Tiffin University and the Toledo College of Law. Jodie has 3 kids and enjoys running in her spare time. Learn more about what the Richland County Prosecut...

Jim McKinney is the CEO of EZ Management Solutions, which is based out of Mansfield, Ohio. Jim started the company in 2011 and a software company for auto recyclers. Logistics and part processing are two of the main areas with the business reaching all across the U.S, and to a good amount of Canada and as far as the U.K. Jim is married and is from the Shelby area. Learn more about the company on t...

Matt Finfgeld is in his 2nd year as director of the Richland County Board of Elections. Matt has been involved at the Board of Elections in various roles since the 1990's. Finfgeld was born in Mansfield and went to Madison High School. Learn what all the local board of elections does prior to and leading up to an election. Close to 400 poll workers are need to run an election and Matt shares all t...

Jason Johnson is a globally recognized subject matter expert in the International K-9 Community. As the Founder and CEO of Project K-9 Hero, Jason has dedicated his career to making sure retired Police K-9s and Military Working Dogs receive the medical care, rehabilitation, or rehoming that they deserve once their service to our country is complete. He is a former Field Canine Coordinator for the...

Duana Patton is the CEO of the Ohio District 5 Area Agency on Aging, which covers 9 counties across the Mid-Ohio area. The organization, which is one of 12 in the state, is based out of Ontario and is located on Park Ave West. Patton has been serving in the role of CEO since 2006. Learn about their many services, who all they offer services for and more about Duana on the podcast. See omnystudio.c...

Joe Perri is the President and CEO if Perri Hearing Aid Service. Joe's business is a franchise of Miracle Ear and is located on Stumbo Road in Ontario. Perri has been in the business for 55 years and welcomes clients from all across the area. Joe Perri was born in West Virginia and spent time in the Air Force for 4 years. Learn more about Joe and his company on the podcast. See omnystudio.com/list...

Steve Strickling has worked for the Mansfield Fire Department since 1991. Strickling is in his 10th year as Fire Chief in Mansfield. Steve was born in Mansfield and grew up in the Bellville area. Strickling went to high school at Clear Fork and is a graduate of the University of Akron. Learn about all of the duties of the fire department, training, facilities, staff members and more on the podcast...

Laura Montgomery is the CEO of Catalyst Life Services, which has several locations in Richland County. Laura is in her 4th year as CEO, but has been with the organization for 17 years total in a variety of roles. Montgomery was born in Canada and moved to Ohio when she was young. Learn about all of the services that Catalyst provides and much more on the podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

George Csanyi is the director of State Support Team Region 7, who provides services to area schools. George has been the with organization since it started back in 2007. Csanyi said, Region 7, covers a total of 10 counties in the region, Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Knox, Marion, Medina, Morrow, Richland, Seneca and Wyandot counties. The office of State Support Team Region 7 is based in Mansfield and...

Pat Dropsey has been the Richland County Auditor for more than 20 years. Pat, who was born in Mansfield and went to St. Peter's, shares about exactly what all his offices does on a daily, weekly and yearly basis. Pat spent time in the Army before college, where he graduated from North Central State with a degree in accounting. Learn more about Pat, his family and the Auditor's office on the podcas...

Kelly Blankenship, Executive Director of Wayfinders Ohio, is in her 5th year with the organization, which provides shelter to those in need in the community. Blankenship tells the story on the podcast of the history of the business, which started back in 1990, as the Harmony House. The organization is located in downtown Mansfield and has plans to expand in the future. Listen to the entire story o...

Steve Paramore has been named the new Superintendent of the Ashland City Schools. Steve, has been the interim Superintendent since December of 2022, and will officially take the role on April, 1st of 2023. Paramore is a 1999 graduate of Ashland and has worked in the district in various roles since 2004. Learn more about Paramore, who is a GREAT golfer, his accomplishments, family and the history o...

Kathy Ezawa is the executive director of the Domestic Violence Shelter of Richland County. The organization has been around for more than 40 years and provides emergency shelter and services to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual assault. Kathy has been in her role for 15 years and is set to retire this summer. Learn more about Kathy and the work her organization d...

Rebecca Owens is the EMA, Emergency Management Agency, Director in Richland County. Owens was named to the position in December of 2022. Rebecca shares exactly what all her job duties are in being prepared for any types of weather situation or natural disaster. Owens was born in Pennsylvania and attended school in Loudonville before college at Ohio State. Learn more about Rebecca on the podcast. S...

Simon Davies: Executive Director, Teen Cancer AmericaNow in its tenth year, Simon leads Teen Cancer America, the only national charity in the USA working directly with hospitals to advise, support and fund them in the development of specialized facilities and programs for adolescents and young adults with cancer. The charity is built on the successful model of Teenage Cancer Trust, UK where Simon...

Julie Chaya is the Health Commissioner at Richland Public Health. Julie just took over the role in February (2023), but has been with the organization for the last 5 years. Chaya was born in Cleveland and went to school in Parma at Normandy High School before going to college at Bowling Green State University and Kent State. Learn all about the service provided at Richland Public Health and more a...

Col. Darren Hamilton is the commander of the 179th Airlift Wing, which will become a Cyber Space Wing later this summer. The base is located at Mansfield Lahm Airport and has around 1,000 members at the base from around 60 counties in Ohio and various other states. Darren was born in Mansfield and grew up in Bellville, then going to Clear Fork for high school and earning his degree from Kent State...

Aubrie Hall is the Associate Director of NAMI (The National Alliance on Mental Illness) Richland County. The organization was formed back in 2001 and she has been with NAMI locally for approaching a year. Hall shares about all of the great work the company does, based out of Mansfield, but also provides education in Ashland County too. Learn more about NAMI Richland County, upcoming events and mor...

Jotika Shetty is the executive director of the Richland County Regional Planning Commission. Jotika is in her 8th year in the role and says, "I am loving every minute of it." Shetty was born in Scotland and moved to the US and New York with her husband before moving to Richland County. The Regional Planning Commission has been in operation since 1959 and is a regional forum covering transportation...

Kevin Kimmel is in his 4th year, as Superintendent of the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center. Kevin was born in Crawford County and went to Buckeye Central High School before attending the University of Findlay. MOESC supports school districts in 3 counties, Richland, Crawford and Morrow and in total, supports close to 20,000 students. Learn about what all they do, the services the offer and more...