LOCAL BUSINESS
New visitors website
The Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a website, with an extensive calendar of event listings, and has released the 2013-2014 Akron/Summit Visitors Guide.
The new website is designed to adapt to desktop screens, computer tablets and smartphones.
The website has two addresses: www.visitakron-summit.org and www.akron.travel.
A digital copy of the new visitors guide can be found on the website. Free copies also are available at the bureau’s offices inside the John S. Knight convention center, 77 E. Mill St., in downtown Akron.
The bureau operates with proceeds from Summit County’s 5.5 percent lodging tax.
Free counseling workshops
Akron SCORE, an area nonprofit group that provides small-business counseling, will offer free workshops during July and August in Akron and Wooster.
In July, Not for Profit will be presented from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 11 at the Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing in the University of Akron’s Polsky Building, 225 S. Main St. Facebook Basics for Small Businesses will be 6 to 8 p.m. July 16 at the Wayne County Public Library in Wooster. Financial Management will be 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 22 at the Taylor Institute; Business Basics will be 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. July 24, Taylor Institute; Social Media & Marketing for Small Businesses will be 6 to 8 p.m. July 30 at the Wayne County Public Library.
The workshops in August, all at the Taylor Institute, are: Contracts and Business Law, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 5; Business Basics, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 6; Business Plan, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 13, and Marketing, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 21.
To register, call 330-379-3163 or go to the Akron SCORE website at www.akron.score.org.
Internship money set
Employers hiring University of Akron students for internships and co-op programs can receive half the student’s salary — up to $4,000 — via a state grant program.
The deadline for employers to apply for the program is July 19.
The internships and co-ops must be a new offering — either in addition to existing internships, co-ops at the business or nonprofit, or a new internship/co-op program at the organization.
To qualify, internship and co-op opportunities must be in one of nine industries: biohealth, energy, automotive, advanced manufacturing, polymers, aerospace and aviation, food processing, financial services, information technology and consumer products.
Employers must be willing to complete an evaluation and employment must be complete before the end of 2013.
All dollars will be distributed after the student’s internship or co-operative work experience.
For copies of the application and grant guidelines, contact Connie King, manager of workforce development at the University of Akron’s Medina County University Center at 330-721-2239 or via email at cking@uakron.edu.
Entrepreneurship series
Local patent attorney and SCORE volunteer Dominic Frisina will present two workshops on entrepreneurship at the main Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 S. High St., in downtown Akron.
The first workshop, Contracts and Business Law, will be 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. July 17 and will feature attorney Patricia Smith. She will discuss legal documents often used in business.
On, Oct. 16, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Frisina will present Innovation and Patenting. He will talk about commercialization of ideas, as well as issues related to secrecy, prototyping, manufacturing and risk mitigation.
The classes will meet in Meeting Room 2 on the High Street Level. Parking is available in the deck adjacent to the library.
Shale forum in September
The third annual Utica shale business forum held in Youngstown will take place Sept. 12-13.
The first day of the Youngstown, Ohio Utica and Natural Gas (YOUNG) Conference & Expo runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Covelli Center on East Front Street. Cost to attend is $75 if registered by Aug. 30; the price is $100 afterward.
Last year’s conference had about 1,200 attendees and 125 exhibitors.
The Sept. 13 program runs 9 a.m. to noon at the Holiday Inn Boardman and features speakers and smaller group sessions. Cost is $50 for registered attendees.
A full agenda is expected to be released next month.
For more information, go online to www.young2013expo.com
Allstate cites costs
Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded home and auto insurer with operations in Hudson, said second-quarter earnings will be cut by about $320 million on costs tied to extinguishing debt. Allstate paid about $2.3 billion to retire bonds with a principal amount of approximately $1.8 billion, the Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer said.
Compiled from staff and wire reports
