Honored to Oblige - Thank You for Asking

When people come to visit Orrville and you want to show them around, where do you take them? The answer to this might vary a bit depending on variables such as whether or not there are children, antique lovers, or rumbling tummies in the group.  Regardless, we all know those certain hot spots that we always like to show off with pride.

On June 15 I had the very special privilege of being a one-hour tour guide for a group of about 10 people from Team Neo and JobsOhio, thanks to our friends Rod Crider and Shawn Starlin at Wayne Economic Development Council who invited me to serve as tour guide.

For this whirlwind tour of Orrville, the focus was on manufacturing.  The 8 x 6 handout at left was their welcome card. It was important for them to know about our economic development partners first and foremost.

They arrived from Wooster in a bus via the Back Orrville Road, so our tour began at the Scott's Company.  Then we headed east to Route 57, entering Orrville from the south.  You can follow the icons that were on the opposite side of the welcome card (shown at right) to see the route we took from there.

Each place we passed was indicated on the list by their logo and a paragraph of description.  This enabled our visitors to learn quickly about the diversification we have, and they could keep the card to remember what it was that they learned about Orrville, Ohio's manufacturing base.

Although I have known all my life that we have a lot of industry here for this size town, I was once again amazed as we passed by company after company, nearly all of them doing business on an international scale.  Seriously, it's nothing short of astounding.   And I do believe our visitors were rather incredulous.

The timing was great, too.  We were able to take them by the current Venture Products building on Mill Street, and shortly after swing through the new industrial park to view the site for their new state of the art facility that is about to spring forth. That was very cool.

There were a few non-manufacturing locations that I was able to share along the way such as Aultman Orrville Hospital, our downtown and The University of Akron Wayne College.  The route worked out well, too, for a quick point in the direction of the library, the schools, the Y and our condo and neighborhood developments.  It was great fun and I enjoyed every inch of it.  Thank YOU for making Orrville so easy to show!

If we weren't on the radar with these folks before, we are now.  Combined with all the impressive things they saw and learned about Wooster and Wayne County, I'm confident they'll know we truly are the heart of Ohio.