Business Journal March 2012 A Section

8/2/2019 Business Journal March 2012 A Section

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Commercial RealEstate A4 Money &Investments B1-B2-B3

Occupational Health B4 Trends InConstruction B5-B9 LimaReport B10-B16

INSIDE

BusinessJournalOF WEST CENTRAL OHIO

THE

March 2012

The Regions Business Publication

www.businessjrnl.com

The Niswonger Performing Arts Center ofNorthwest Ohio was honored with the Crystal Im-age Award presented by the Van Wert Area Chamberof Commerce at their annual banquet on January 26,2012. The award is presented to a current Chambermember business that has demonstrated leadershipwithin the Van Wert community by its many faceted

contributions which include business responsibility,productivity strength, employee empowerment, andservice to the community.

What began as a dream in 2001 became a realityin 2007 when the Niswonger Performing Arts Centerof Northwest Ohio opened its doors for the first pub-lic concert. The mission set forth by the governingboard, the Van Wert Area Performing Arts Founda-tion, was, in short, to inspire, educate and entertainresidents of Van Wert County and the surroundingregion as well as stimulate economic growth.

As the NPAC enters its fifth year, the Center hashad a direct impact in all areas of the stated mission.

It has offered a variety of programming encompass-ing all genres of music, shows and speakers. TheNPAC has grown from 11 professional shows in2007 to 27 with the completion of the 2011-2012season. At the end of 2007, 71% of the ticket buyingpatrons resided in Van Wert County. That percent-age is now 34% of 3100 plus buyers in 2011. The

mailing list now exceeds 8500 which includes over30 states and Canada. Patrons have come to VanWert County spending dollars for food, lodging andfuel, all while enjoying the variety of programs at

Niswonger Performing Arts Wins Crystal Image Award

UTELCO Credit Union andSuperior Federal Credit Union,both of Lima, have announcedplans to combine their operations.Under the arrangement, UTELCOCredit Union will integrate its$4.5 million in assets and 1,600members with Superior, which has$360 million in assets and 46,000members. The combined orga-nization will operate as SuperiorFederal Credit Union.

The operations are expectedto combine in the second quarterof 2012.

The deal will provide membersof UTELCO Credit Union accessto Superiors nine area branchlocations and its wider array ofnancial products and services.

There are a lot of products,services, and technologies thatwe would like to offer our mem-

bers that Superior already hasin place, said Cynthia First,CEO of UTELCO Credit Union.Meanwhile, our members willgain the immediate advantage ofan expanded ATM network andconvenient branch locations. Thisis denitely the right move for

our membership.Once the deal is completed,

members of UTELCO will haveaccess to those additional prod-ucts and services at Superior, suchas full-service mortgage products,nancial investment services, andsmall business services.

Phil Buell, President and ChiefExecutive Ofcer of Superior,believes the arrangement willbenet the members of both insti-tutions. In credit unions, consoli-dation is done for the sole purposeof beneting members. This is

a decision to combine assets andprovide additional services to themembership.

Buell added, We believe this

merger will enhance the membervalue proposition for UTELCO

Credit Union members.Before the merger could take

place, the Boards of both creditunions had to approve the proposal.

The merger is still subject to regu-latory approval by the National

Credit Union Administration(NCUA) and Ohio Division ofFinancial Institutions (ODFI).

For additional information,

please contact Kurt Neeper at(419) 879-3502

Local credit unions to combine operations

TheBusinessJournal

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Distributedin13counties...

ALLEN,AUGLAIZE,DEFIANCE,HANCOCK,

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Niswonger PAC Executive Director, Paul Hov-erman accepts the award from Van Wert AreaChamber Director, Susan Munroe. Used withPermission from Times Bulletin Media.

See NISWONGER, page 5A


2/8

2A TheBusinessJournal March2012

OHIO LOGISTICS

Northern Georgia (Rock Spring)

Pandora, OH (February 8, 2012) Mr. Jeff Stratton recently joinedthe staff of First National Bank as aCommercial Lender in the Findlaymarket.

Stratton joins First National withover five years of banking experiencein Findlay and Columbus. He alsoworked as Wholesale and Fundrais-ing Manager as well as Financial Of-ficer with his family business, Strat-ton Greenhouses, for four years. Heis a graduate of Miami University inOxford, OH. Jeff is active in manycivic and community activities andis a member of English LutheranChurch in Bluffton where he and hiswife, Leisa, reside.

As a Commercial Lender, Jeffis responsible for developing newbusiness relationships in the Findlaycommunity. He will be located in theFindlay West office currently underconstruction at 1114 Trenton Avenue.The new branch will open in March.

First National Bank is a whol-ly owned subsidiary of PandoraBancshares (PDRB). The Bankwas founded in 1919 and is a lo-cally owned community bank with$129MM in assets. The bank has of-fices in Pandora, Bluffton and Find-lay, Ohio. First National Bank is anEqual Housing Lender and MemberFDIC. The Banks website is www.e-fnb.com.

Jeff Stratton

joins First

NationalBank

STRATTON


3/8

March2012 TheBusinessJournal 3A

Dallas, TX Marlow Industries, worldleader in quality thermoelectric technology,today announced it has won critical indus-try recognition in the defense and telecommarkets from industry leaders Raytheon andJDSU. Awards were presented in 2011 forproduct and service excellence.

We are honored to receive these awards.We work hard to ensure our customers suc-cess is placed front and center which meanstruly working together as partners, saidBarry Nickerson, general manager, MarlowIndustries. Beyond technological excel-lence we strive for service excellence. If wecan anticipate customers needs before theyknow they have a need we are doing our

job.Marlow Industries was recognized for

its exceptional performance in supportingRaytheon Companys Space and Airborne

Systems (SAS) business at an annual Sup-plier Excellence Awards Dinner hosted bythe aerospace company in Los Angeles, Ca-lif. Marlow Industries was selected for itsability to meet demanding standards in theareas of quality and delivery performance,customer satisfaction, and total businessand financial health. Evaluated by Raythe-on buyers and material program managers,Marlow Industries was among only 39 sup-

pliers (representing less than one percent ofthe Raytheon SAS supplier base) selectedfor this award.

The men and women serving our coun-try depend on our products in critical anddangerous missions. Our team at Marlow iscommitted to the highest standards of excel-

lence and were honored to be recognizedby Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems,said Stan Thomas, Marlow Industries de-fense industry account manager.

In telecommunications, Marlow Indus-tries was designated 2011 Supplier of theYear by JDSU, the leader in componentsand subsystems for optical communications.JDSU recognized Marlow Industries for itscommitment to flexible support beginningin the design process and carrying throughto product introduction and high-volumeproduction.

According to Bill Marsh, Marlow Indus-tries telecommunications industry accountmanager, The key to our success in partner-ing with JDSU and other industry leaders isthe global depth of our customer relation-ships. We are willing and able to supportour customers business- no matter theirtime zone- from design to production andbeyond. Our goal is to help our customerslead in the market for the long-term an-ticipating and addressing market needs inadvance.

About Marlow Industries, Inc. | A subsid-iary of II-VI Incorporated

High quality, high performance, thermo-

electric solutions at industry competitivepricesMarlow Industries, a subsidiary ofII-VI incorporated, is the world leader inquality thermoelectric technology. MarlowIndustries develops and manufactures ther-moelectric modules (TEMs) and subsystemsfor the aerospace, defense, medical, com-

mercial, industrial, automotive, consumergaming, telecommunications and powergeneration markets. Marlow is actively in-volved in numerous other R&D programsto advance the state of the art in both ther-moelectric cooling and power generation.Marlow is Telcordia and ISO 9001:2008compliant and a Malcolm Baldrige NationalQuality Award winning company.

About II-VI Incorporated (NASDAQGlobal Select: IIVI)

II-VI Incorporated, the worldwide leader

in crystal growth technology, is a vertically-integrated manufacturing company that cre-ates and markets products for diversifiedmarkets including industrial manufacturing,military and aerospace, high-power elec-tronics and telecommunications, and ther-moelectronics applications. Headquarteredin Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, with manu-facturing, sales, and distribution facilitiesworldwide, the Company produces numer-ous crystalline compounds including zincselenide for infrared laser optics, siliconcarbide for high-power electronic and mi-

crowave applications, and bismuth telluridefor thermoelectric coolers.

About RaytheonRaytheon Company, with 2011 sales of

$25 billion, is a technology and innovationleader specializing in defense, homelandsecurity and other government marketsthroughout the world. With a history of in-novation spanning 90 years, Raytheon pro-

vides state-of-the-art electronics, missionsystems integration and other capabilities inthe areas of sensing; effects; and command,control, communications and intelligencesystems, as well as a broad range of mis-sion support services. With headquarters inWaltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 71,000people worldwide. For more about Raythe-on, visit us at www.raytheon.com and fol-low us on Twitter at @raytheon.

About JDSUJDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU; and TSX: JDU)

innovates and markets diverse technologiesthat enhance the way people experiencethe world every day. We enable fast, high-quality communications, secure financialtransactions, reliable consumer electron-ics, green energy, differentiated brands anda host of other solutions. We provide thesesolutions through three business segments:Communications Test and Measurement,Communications and Commercial OpticalProducts, and Advanced Optical Technolo-gies. To learn more about JDSU, please visitwww.jdsu.com and www.jdsu.tv. Follow us

on JDSU Perspectives, Twitter, Facebookand YouTube.

Marlow Industries names supplier of the year

BusinessJournal

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ofWestCentralOhioVolume21,No.3

PublisherDonaldR.HempleContributingWritersJeffreyGitomer

AdvertisingDonaldR.HempleTheBusinessJournalismailedtothetopbusinessleadersinthe11-countyregionofWestCentralOhio.Althoughinfor-

mationisgatheredfromsourcesconsideredtobereliable,theaccuracyandcompletenessoftheinformationcannotbeguaranteed.InformationexpressedinTheBusinessJournaldoesnotconstituteasolicitationforthepurchaseorsaleofanyproducts.

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ContactUsTelephone 419-999-4762DonHemple 419-695-0015 ext. 138MarilynHoffman 419-695-0015ext.131StacyPrine 419-695-0015 ext. 129 tol l fr ee 800-589-6950

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Womens Power Conference Enlighten

Empower Encourage on March 31Auglaize Mercer Wom-

en in Business will present

the Womens Power Con-ference Enlighten Em-power Encourage onMarch 31 at Wright StateUniversity Lake Campus.

Auglaize Mercer Wom-en in Business founderand President Sandy Ger-deman said the event is amust for business women.

Women do business and network differ-ently than men, Gerdeman said. We arentgoing to go out on the golf course and hit a

few balls around and make deals. This con-ference will offer women information on howto advance their careers; boost their salariesand increase leadership skills; find more en-joyment in their work and discover the secretto balancing their careers and lives; and con-nect with some of Americas most influentialwomen in business.

Speakers include Donna Krech, who hasfast become regarded as the symbol for suc-

cess to women in business. As founder andCEO of Donna Krech & Co., she has createdan empire devoted to equipping and inspiringfemale professionals around the world. Go-ing from penniless mom to multi-millionaire,Donna is living the American Dream ANDhas become an expert in teaching others to dothe same.

Candace Klein is the founder and CEOof two successful start-up companies: Bad GirlVentures and SoMoLend.SoMoLend is a new tech-

nology platform that con-nects business borrowersseeking loans with lenderslooking to make a returnon investment.

Jan Miesse is a speak-er, mentor, and now, au-thor, with her new break-

out book, Bloom GirlBloom (Real Women with

Real Answers). In writ-ing Bloom Girl Bloom,Jan has conversed withwomen around the worldabout their aspirations,their hopes and dreamsand how they are influ-enced by life choices andexperiences.

Cea Cohen Elliott is aprofessional motivational speaker, wellnessand fitness coach, and seminar and workshopleader. Her humor-filled motivational pre-

sentations as a keynote speaker and seminarleader have been experienced by thousandswhose lives have been changed forever...forthe better.

Robin Martin Elston is president andfounder of Elston Consulting. She has gaineda national reputation as a consultant, executive

See WOMEN, page 5A

ELLIOTT

ELSTON

KLEIN


4/84A TheBusinessJournal March2012

Commercial Real Estate

SHARRON REALTY ASSOCIATES INC. Residential Commercial

Worldwide Referral Relocation Career Opportunities

SHARON HENKALINE, BROKER

419-238-4505www.century21.com

1043 S. Shannon Van Wert

YOUR VAN WERTCONNECTION TOCOMMERCIALREAL ESTATE!

GREAT INVESTMENT!Retail space plus 3 Apartments in Convoy,OH. Mint Condition, all units Showing goodincome $74900.Call Sharon@419-203-1043

DOWNTOWN VAN WERT!Unbelieveable opportunity!26136 sq ft plus 8712 Sq Ft Basement. 3 sto-ries, would Be a great loft condo project. Firstfloor retail space. Creative financing avail-able.Call Sharon@419-203-1043.

HIGHLY VISIBLE LOCATIONThis 4620 sq ft building offers a Great poten-

tial for many different Businesses. Loadingdock, plus Rear building offers double Doorentry. Call Chris@419-203-4686 $149,900

EDGE OF VAN WERT, EASY ACCESSTO 30! This .56 acre lot, on John Brown Rdis a great location for Your business building.Call Sharon@419-203-1043 $15,900.

INDIAN LAKE ESTATES, VAN WERT5 building lots ready for construction.4 w/underground sprinkler access.1 on cul-de-sac. Call Sharon @419-203-1043

RETAIL SPACE WITH FINISHEDBASEMENTDOWNTOWN VAN WERT!Mint condition w/ immediate occupancyon this 2640 Sq Ft building with Finished

basement. Call Chris @419-203-4686

FOX ROAD LOCATION VAN WERTHigh traffic area on Fox Road near intersec-tion of Shannon; Zoned I1; Commercial mallimmediately north.220x327 ft lot. Call Chris@419-203-4686

LET US ADD YOURPROPERTY TO OURCOMMERCIAL LISTINGS!

Sharon T. Henkaline, Broker419-203-1043Chris B. Henkaline, Agent419-203-4686

Sales and Service CompanyMarketing Roofing - Siding Contractor ServicesExtremely Profitable - Large Company

The company provides the logistics and dependable contractors do the actual work.This highly profitable and well-known company is a turn-key operation. Having been in business for 20

years, the name is well respected in the marketplace; the company has been rated as one of the top 200roofing and improvement companies in the USA.

Management, sales and service delivery personnel are all in place. Well trained, qualified and tenuredindependent contracting companies perform the actual work.

Over 2,000 jobs were completed in 2011, and hundreds of jobs are already on the books for 2012. 90%residential and 10% commercial work.

Servicing ten metropolitan and urban counties, the market demographic for this company couldnt bebetter. Residential roofs need to be replaced every 15 to 20 years There are hundreds of thousands ofresidences and condos within the market area.

The value of U.S. private and public building construction, an indicator for roofing and siding contractors,is forecast to grow at an annual compound rate of 10 percent between 2011 and 2016 (by InterindustryEconomic Research Fund, Inc.).Ownerships estimate of annual growth during same period is between 10% and 12%.

This is an excellent opportunity for any buyer seeking a profitable, well-oiled sales and service company.The owner is ready to retire.

Detailed Profile available for review by financially qualified [email protected]

Grover Rutter CPA/ABV, CVA, BVALMergers, Acquisitions, and ValuationsPhone: 866-825-8283 419-427-1564

Fax: 419-427-1564For Additional Listings & Helpful Information, go to www.gruttercpas.com.

Grover Rutter R/E agent for Phil Cole Real Estate and Auctions LLC

2011 2010 2009 2008

Revenues $12,300,000 $12,577,947 $6,872,575 $6,833,689

Sellers Discretionary earnings $1,380,000 $691,481 $304,060 $234,994

Its back! Business is cranking again

and the phone is ringing. CoStar newsreports that the dollar volume of commer-cial real estate transactions are back upto historical long term average and thatswith a lousy third quarter 2011, due most-ly to the debt limit impasse Thats a totalof $291.6 billion last year, which is an in-crease of 32% over 2010. The 2011 num-

ber also beat the 12 year average by $40

billion. Its still lower than the record, andI might add, unsustainable $560.7 billionin 2007.

Every sector has improved. Officewas up 39%, retail up 43%, apartmentsup 46%, hospitality up 32% and industriallagged a bit at an 8% increase. Land saleswere down 14% versus 2010

Retail was up 43% from 2010, but thats

only 25% the 2007 volume. Plus, itsonly the triple net or absolute net leased,single tenant, national credit retail thatsrecovered so well. It would be more of arecovery if we had some product, but dueto unavailability of construction financ-ing, there was little new construction overthe last three years. Its a feeding frenzy

on whats out there that meets very finite

criteria.If you want this type of net leased, sin-

gle tenant, retail product, be prepared tomove when you find something you like.If you like it, generally, so will everyoneelse.

For the first time since 2008, over-all commercial real estate prices are onthe increase. CoStars monthly NationalComposite Index of Commercial RealEstate increased 2.2% and thats the firstsince the sharp downturn in 2008.

Leading the price recovery has beeninvestment grade property no surprisethere as Ive written about this for months.

Also, the continued decline in distressedvolume contributed to the 1.8% gain fromthe previous month.

The General Commercial Index rose1.4% in October. Thats the sixth con-secutive monthly increase, reversing a 32month decline.

The investments grade index achieved a3.4% increase in October versus the previ-

ous month. Growth has been strong sinceMarch 2011. Distress decreased from 53%to 28% in the same time frame.

Sales volume is still 31.1% below theAugust 2007 peak and the biggest reasonis that we have so little inventory. So again,developers, if you have new triple net orabsolute net single tenant retail comingout of the ground, Id be real interested. In

spite of being substantially below the alltime peak, transaction volume is averagefor the prioer.

What were seeing is a broad basedrecovery. Barring something cataclysmichappening international, were on ourway to good six or seven years before thenext downturn. Absolutely, it will happenagain.

Strong comeback for commercial real estate

Commercial real estate - year over year price increase


5/8March2012 TheBusinessJournal 5A

OHIOS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES

My Partnerprovides benchmarking data.

saves me money.

is my electric co-op.

{

My cooperative provides me with access to

benchmarking data that lets me compare my

companys energy use to other facilities like mine.

Having this information helps me target ways to

cut my energy costs and improve my bottom line.

Your electric cooperative oers solutions, resources and

personalized attentionall designed to make your businessas energy efcient and cost eective as possible. Register

today at www.buckeyepower.com to receive our

inormative Questline newsletter.

the NPAC.The NPAC has offered educational op-

portunities through master classes withprofessionals, pre-concert lectures withdirectors, assemblies for students both lo-cally and regionally. Over 150 student andlocal volunteers contribute regularly to the

success of the organization. The NPAC hasalso provided the community with a state ofthe art facility for utilization of receptions,meetings, training sessions, award ceremo-nies, and more. Partnerships have been es-tablished with restaurants, organizations andhotels increasing revenues for additional lo-cal businesses. Over the years, through vari-ous donations and gifts the center has addeda showcase of spectacular art for visualbeauty and effect.

The future is bright for the NPAC andits impact on the Van Wert community as it

enters its fifth season celebrating the arts inNorthwest Ohio.

The Niswonger Performing Arts Centerof Northwest Ohio is located at 10700 StateRoute 118 S., Van Wert, Ohio 45891. BoxOffice Hours are Monday through Friday,Noon 4PM. For more information aboutshows, rentals, or the center, call the NPACat 419.238.NPAC (6722) or visit the websiteat www.npacvw.org, follow the NPAC onFacebook or Twitter.

Niswonger(Continued from page 1A)

Women(Continued from page 3A)coach, trainer, and strate-gic planner specializing inleadership in times of majorchange. She has extensiveleadership experience in-cluding 16 years in manu-facturing management andhuman resources in Fortune500 companies.

Other speakers include

Dr. Sharon Showman,Lecturer, Communication/

Religion at Wright State University, LakeCampus; and Susan Marsico, director, Cor-porate Benefits & HR Systems at OCLC inColumbus.

A Meet and Greet Networking Eventwill held at 7 p.m. March 30 at Celina Manorin Celina. The sponsor willbe providing appetizersand drinks. Several of theconference presenters andspeakers will be on hand to

mingle and network.Registration is $109.

Tables are $800.The event is a fundraiser

for the Women in BusinessContinuing EducationScholarship

For more information regarding this event,contact [email protected]

KRECH

MEISS


6/86A TheBusinessJournal March2012

24,090. Thats how many days Ive beenalive. You? Ill save you the math. I just cel-ebrated my 66th birthday. (I know. I dontlook it.)

For the past 16 years, I have been angryat birthdays didnt want any more anddidnt want to have any acknowledgement.Didnt want any celebration. But, people al-ways encouraged me to anyway.

This year Ive decided to go from grumpyto grateful from stoic to celebratory. And itwas a joyful decision. I have so much to bethankful for. Its a shame to waste anothersecond lamenting my age.

Celebrate the day and the days.Celebrate the year and the years.Celebrate with family and close friends.Im so happy to be with my family and

in good health. Im so happy to reflect onachievements and create the vision for newmilestones to pass this year and in the com-ing decade.

How do you celebrate your birthday?Many people celebrate the wrong way. Theyparty to a stupor. Drunk, hung over, stoned,high, and in general overindulgent to a pointof need a day to recover.

Lets take it deeper

How do you celebrate the salesyou make?

How does your boss celebratethe sales you make?

Are they two different celebra-tions?

Most salespeople have a planor a quota for the month, the quar-ter, and the year. To accomplishthis task (goal) is often more ar-duous than most salespeople areable. Sales have to take place on aregular basis.

When salespeople make a sale,theres a celebration. Sometimes avery small one. Sometimes a negative one.

Heres the scenario:Salesperson (in an elated tone) Hey

boss, I just made a sale!Boss You still need three more before

you hit your goal.Salesperson Thanks boss, you (exple-

tive deleted).The boss could have just as easily said,

GREAT! Way to go! Tell me all about it.Your boss could have embraced your suc-cess, celebrated the moment, and helpedyou discover what went right so you could

repeat the process, and have a greatattitude toward the inevitable nextsale.

Which celebration would yourather have?

Which boss would you ratherhave?

Which boss do you have?Which boss are you?

Heres what I discovered thisbirthday: Celebration, and the typeof celebration, is both a choice andan attitude.

I choose happy, and I try my best to makeothers around me happy. You?

If your boss is grumpy, it might make yougrumpy. Thats what I was the past 16 yearson my day of birth. I wasnt snippy aboutit, but people knew it was not my choice tocelebrate a birthday as I was aging. And itonly took me 16 years to figure out that Iwas completely, utterly wrong.

Not only was I gloomy, I made othersaround me gloomy. In spite of the fact thatpeople called me, in spite of the fact thatpeople gave me gifts, or took me out to din-ner, or surprised me with a party, I stillwasnt happy on the inside. I wasnt mynormal gung-ho, laughing, smiley self. SoI made a choice through my own self-real-ization that I couldnt stop my birthday fromoccurring, so why not make it a happy timewith my family and the people I love.

The good news is I have gone from364 days of celebration to 365 days of cel-ebration. You and your boss may not be thesame.

You will make more sales if you cel-ebrate the sale and the day, every time. Andyour boss will be perceived as a great bossif he or she celebrates with you.

For the past three years, we have beendiscouraged as a country and a corporationfrom celebrating. Please join me in celebrat-ing everything and every day. Please join mein finding all the good in whatever happensrather than nagging on what didnt happenor what still needs to happen.

It boils down to the choice between foursimple words:

Discourage or Encourage?Criticize or Harmonize?

Which words and actions do you thinkwork best?

While the choice may seem obvious, theactual implementation and communicationare often the opposite. In fact, they are moreoften the opposite.

Want to grow your business?Want to make more sales?Want to make more profit?Want to increase productivity?Want to have better morale?Want to keep your customers loyal?Want to keep your employees loyal?

Its real easy celebrate more.Happy Birthday!

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible,Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyaltyis Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The LittleRed Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book ofConnections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude,

The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The LittlePlatinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Bookof Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and SocialBOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead youto more information about training and seminars, oremail him personally at [email protected].

2012 All Rights Reserved. Dont even think aboutreproducing this documentwithout written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomerand Buy Gitomer. 704/333-1112

Another birthday. Bah humbug or day of celebration?

JeffreyGitomer

DEFIANCE, Ohio, Feb. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- First Defiance FinancialCorp. (NASDAQ: FDEF) announced todaythat its Board of Directors has received per-mission from regulators to pay a cash divi-dend of $0.05 per common share payableMarch 1, 2012 to shareholders of record atthe close of business on February 15, 2012.The dividend represents an annual dividendof 1.15 percent based on First Defiancecommon stock closing price on February 6,2012.

First Defiance Financial Corp. is theholding company for First Federal Bankof the Midwest and First Insurance Groupof the Midwest, Inc. First Federal Bank isa community bank serving northwest Ohio,southeast Michigan and northeast Indianawhere it currently operates 33 banking cen-ters. First Insurance Group is a full line in-surance agency with six offices in northwestOhio.

First Defiance has approximately9,726,243 common shares outstanding.

Dividend will be payable March 1

Lima, Ohio, February 13, 2012 - Denny Staude was recentlynamed Plant Manager of

Wannemacher Total Logistics Van Wert, Ohio liquid food fillingfacilities.

Staude will be responsible for the daily operation and productionat the Van Wert facility. During his 30 year career, he has worked invarious positions in the food and dairy industry with such companiesas Borden and General Foods. He was most recently Vice Presidentof Operations at International Dairy Ingredients in Wapakoneta.

The Van Wert plant was acquired by Wannemacher Total Logis-tics late in 2011. The purchase allowed Wannemacher to add liquidfilling to its extensive lineup of contract packaging services while

also adding to the firms more than 1 million square feet of ware-housing space as well.

Wannemacher Total Logistics was founded in 1991 and includesfreight logistics, distribution services, warehousing, transportation,and contract packaging.

Wannemacher names Denny

Staude plant manager at Van Wert

STAUDE

Citizens National Bank

(CNB) has named StacyLauer as Senior Vice Pres-ident/Institutional Inves-tor. In this position, Lauerwill be responsible formonitoring the banks in-vestment portfolio and thedevelopment and adminis-tration of deposit pricingstrategies.

Lauer received a BAin Mathematics from

Bluffton University andan MA in Economics fromBowling Green State University. She hasbeen employed with CNB since 1994,working in the credit analysis departmentand later transitioning to her most recentposition as SVP/Head of InformationTechnology. J. Michael Romey, Presi-dent/CEO, said of Lauer, Stacy is a true

tested performer and has im-

proved every department of thebank that she has been involvedwith. She has an economics de-gree and that discipline is criti-cal when anticipating futurebond purchases.

Lauer is actively involvedin childrens ministry withinher church community. She is amember of Findlay SAFE (Sup-porting Allergic Families throughEducation) and coaches a team in

the Findlay Young Miss SoftballLeague. Stacy lives with her two chil-dren in Findlay, OH.

With offices in Bluffton, Celina, Defi-ance, Elida, Findlay, Lima, Springfield andVan Wert, Citizens National Bank has as-sets totaling more than $580 million andhas been serving the communities of WestCentral Ohio since 1920.

Lauer Appointed SVP/Institutional Investor

LAUER


7/8

March2012 TheBusinessJournal 7A

DEFIANCE -- Rurban Finan-cial Corp., the parent firm of StateBank & Trust in northwest Ohio,on Wednesday reported a 2011profit that was fueled by newmortgage activity and the stabili-zation of revenues at its data ser-vices subsidiary, which the firmtried unsuccessfully to spin off in2010.

Rurban recorded a profit of

$2.1 million, or 42 cents a share,last year. That compared to a lossof $15.6 million, or $3.21 a share,in 2010. That loss initially was$9.9 million but after the firm re-assessed the value of its RurbancData Services Inc., it restated inMarch its 2010 losses to the higherfigure.

Mark Klein, Rurban presidentand chief executive officer, said thefinancial situation at RDSI, whichhad a software glitch in 2010 that

ended the spinoff effort, got muchbetter in 2011 and its problemshave been resolved. With the dis-tractions of downsizing behind usand a leaner, more focused team,we are better positioned to capital-ize on opportunities related spe-cifically to item processing, whereRDSI has a strong competencyand a distinct market advantage,he said.

Mr. Klein added that the com-panys mortgage originations ap-

proached record levels. We havebeen quite successful this past yearwith our new jumbo residential-loan product that we introduced toour highly qualified private bank-ing clients, he said.

Rurbans net interest income,a key measure of a banks health,was $20.7 million last year, upfrom $19.9 million in 2010. Itsprovisions for loan losses were $2million, down from $10.6 milliona year earlier.

For the fourth quarter, Rur-ban had a profit of $675,00, or 14cents a share. That compared witha 2010 fourth quarter loss of $6.6million, or $1.35 a share, whichwas mainly because of the failedattempt to spin off RDSI.

Rurban

registers

$2.1M profit

in 2011


8/8

8A TheBusinessJournal March2012

Documents

Business Journal March 2012 A Section