MVEDC to Honor Business Journal, Its Publisher
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp. will recognize The Business Journal and its publisher, Andrea Wood, as the Mahoning Valley Business and Person of the Year.
MVEDC will present the award at its 35th anniversary Salute to Business, Industry and Labor banquet, which will be held Oct. 28 at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center in Boardman. Jim Tressel, president of Youngstown State University, will deliver the keynote address.
In August 1984, at the height of the steel industry’s downfall in the Mahoning Valley, Wood joined with Ralph Zerbonia to launch the Youngstown Business Journal. Their goal was to focus on positive business news in the Mahoning Valley. Zerbonia left the business in 1986 and Wood, a former news anchor and award-winning investigative reporter for WYTV Channel 33, was named president of the Youngstown Publishing Co. and publisher and editor in chief of the publication.
She has presided over the newspaper’s growth from a monthly to twice-monthly publication, its expansion to Trumbull County and then a five-county coverage area, and adoption of a new name, The Business Journal. The newspaper, which has won numerous awards for its journalism, was the first local publication to be printed on recycled paper, and one of the first to establish an online presence, BusinessJournalDaily.com. In 2009, the website added online video news segments and interviews as part of its innovative DailyBUZZ newscast.
Wood twice served as president of the board of directors of Crime Stoppers of Greater Youngstown and currently is secretary of the board of directors for the YMCA of Youngstown.
“MVEDC is pleased to recognize Andrea as an outstanding business woman and to recognize The Business Journal for its high standards of professional integrity and journalistic quality,” said Jeffrey Solomon, president of the MVEDC board of directors. “The newspaper has helped to shape opinion and provide insight in a fair and impartial way. We wish them many more years of quality reporting.”
A public reception at 6 p.m. will precede the awards dinner and program. For more details or ticket information regarding the Oct. 28 event, call MVEDC at 330-759-3668, or visit the MVEDC website at www.mvedc.com to purchase tickets online.
Pictured: Andrea Wood
SOURCE: Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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