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SCEDC holds annual meeting and announces award

Sandusky County was ranked among the best nationally based on the number of business development projects, the Sandusky County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) announced.
SCEDC is a non-profit organization that focuses on workforce development, business retention and expansion, and business recruitment for Sandusky County.
According to Site Selection magazine, a national economic development publication, Fremont-Sandusky County is one of the top 20 micropolitans in the United States for business investment and expansion.
Fremont-Sandusky County ranked 16th out of 551 micropolitan communities in the country. Northwest Ohio had six micropolitans which ranked in the top 40 nationwide.
Ohio ranked fifth in the country for 2023’s top states by projects per capita and third by the total number of projects. In response to the ranking, Fremont Mayor Daniel Sanchez said, “The city of Fremont and Sandusky County have proven year to year that this is a good place to do business. It is a testament to the hard work of the team, and we are proud to be in the top 5% of this list that compares Fremont to over 500 other communities nationwide.”
The U.S. Census Bureau defines a micropolitan community as a rural county whose largest city does not exceed a population of 50,000. According to the Census Bureau, there are 551 micropolitan communities in the United States.
Site Selection magazine considers a project qualified if it has a dollar investment greater than $1 million for building and equipment, square footage of at least 20,000 in new/expanding construction, or the addition of 20 new jobs.
“Congratulations to Fremont-Sandusky County for this award. We are thankful to all the businesses who continue to invest in their operations and to those new businesses that call Sandusky County home,” said Beth Hannam, executive director of the SCEDC.
2024 officers
SCEDC hosted its Annual Meeting of Investors on March 1. Nearly 200 investors and members of the community attended the event.
During the meeting, Hannam presented a review video of the year 2023, which she characterized as a year of growth for the SCEDC, marked by 52 projects, resulting in $63 million in capital investments, creating 221 new jobs and retaining 601 jobs.
SCEDC officers for 2024 in 2024 include: president – Brian Geffe, The Mosser Group; first vice president/treasurer – Tim Buit, The Bellevue Hospital; second vice-president – David Benavides, First National Bank and secretary – Bruce Schrader, Clyde Tool & Die, Inc.
Elected to a three-year term as SCEDC Board of directors were Tim Buit, The Bellevue Hospital; Brian Geffe, The Mosser Group; Roger Kuns, Kuns Northcoast Security; Robert Kusmer, Ballville Township; Angie Morelock, Vanguard-Sentinel CTC; Ken Swint, ProMedica; Ty Tracy, Village of Woodville and Russ Zimmerman, Sandusky County Commissioner.
Marc Glotzbecker, Village of Gibsonburg, was elected to a two-year term on the board, and Jeff Choquette, Total Distribution, was elected to a one-year term.
The Keynote speaker for the Annual Meeting was K. Venkatesh Prasad, representing the Center for Automotive Research.
The article about the top micropolitans is available online at siteselection.com.