Dayton Development Coalition Presents Dayton Children's President & CEO Feldman with Regional Leader Award
This year’s Maureen Patterson Regional Leader Award honors Deborah Feldman, President and CEO of Dayton Children’s Hospital.
The annual award is named for Maureen Patterson, who dedicated her career to the region’s economic growth. The award honors an extraordinary leader in our community who, like Patterson, advocates for the community’s economic health and growth. The Dayton Development Coalition (DDC) presented the award today at its Annual Meeting + Economic Review.
“For decades, Debbie Feldman has been a true servant leader. First at Montgomery County and then at Dayton Children’s Hospital, she works every day to make our community better,” DDC President and CEO Jeff Hoagland said. “It came as no surprise that when a global pandemic hit Dayton, her trusted leadership has guided our community through the crisis and protected our children.”
Under her leadership, Children’s has flourished, creating a new partnership with Shriner’s Hospital for Children, bringing care to families in underserved parts of our community with a strong focus on equity in healthcare. She’s created a hospital that can put children at ease and fill them with wonder while providing them with world-class care.
Prior to leading Dayton Children’s, Feldman served Montgomery County for 30 years, where she held successive leadership positions including Director of Human Resources, Assistant County Administrator and the last 15 years as County Administrator. Her commitment to effective and efficient public services, community and economic development, as well as her support for those in need guided her tenure.
The DDC also presented four economic development awards including:
Jobs Creator of the Year: Gabriel Brothers Inc.
In October Gabe’s announced plans for a new distribution center in Springfield, Ohio, at the PrimeOhio II Industrial Park at 1801 Prime Parkway.
Measuring more than 850,000 square feet, it will be the company’s largest distribution center. Construction at the 114-acre site has already begun and hiring will start this fall. The facility is expected to open for full operation in February 2023.
The $77.5 million project will create more than 800 full-time and part-time jobs over five years. Positions will include material handlers, packers, sorters, equipment operators, truck drivers, counters, maintenance workers, administrative staff, supervisors and managers.
In addition to being the largest project in Springfield for many years, the site, PrimeOhio II, was one of the region’s first SiteOhio authenticated sites. The designation marks properties as fully ready for development and allows for a faster construction timeline.
Largest Capital Investment: Royal Canin North America.
Royal Canin North America, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc. and a leader in pet health nutrition, announced in March a $390M investment to build a new factory in Lewisburg, Ohio to meet increasing demand for Royal Canin’s premium pet nutrition products.
Founded in 1968 and purchased by Mars, Inc. in 2001, Royal Canin is a global leader in pet science, health and nutrition. Royal Canin manufactures and supplies cat and dog food and is committed to science-based research and innovation that provides formulas with individualized nutritional solutions.
Construction of the 450,000 square foot facility began in spring 2021 and it is expected to start operations in the second half of 2023, bringing more than 224 new jobs to the area. The factory will manufacture both Royal Canin and EUKANUBA™ health and nutrition food products for dogs and cats. The new facility will be built to meet leading-edge environmental standards; Mars will pursue LEED Silver Certification upon completion, demonstrating its commitment to sustainability. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the globally accepted benchmark for designing, constructing and operating green buildings.
Royal Canin currently operates its Pet Health Nutrition Center, a global research and development hub for the company, in Lewisburg, Ohio. The new factory will be located on the same property.
Entrepreneurial Start-Up: Sentinel Occupational SafetyE
Sentinel began in October 2020 with the goal of preventing the millions of worker injuries and deaths each year that happen in hazardous industrial workplace environments. A spinoff of Aptima Ventures, the venture-backed startup introduced its ‘Safety as a Service’ platform known as SafeGuard™ to improve workplace safety through more preventive oversight.
SafeGuard’s unique IoT approach combines sensors, wearables, and AI analytics to intelligently and continuously monitor workers in a variety of dangerous occupational settings. From frontline firefighters and construction workers who face excessive heat, smoke, and pollution on the job, to those working inside dangerous confined spaces in the presence of noxious fumes, chemicals, and other hazards, workers face far greater risk of injury or death when inadequately monitored, working alone or remotely.
In November, Sentinel announced it had raised a $2.1 million round led by the DDC’s Accelerant, Aptima Ventures, JobsOhio Growth Capital, Ohio’s Hospice, Inc. and The Indiana University Angel Network. These funds will be used to further develop its industry-defining platform for industrial safety and personal health monitoring and launch commercial pilots.
Project of the Year – Economy Linen and Towel Service
Economy Linen is investing approximately $20 million in building a 78,000 square-foot laundry facility at 2100 McCall Street in West Dayton. The new facility is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2022 and will create at least 70 new jobs in the Dayton area.
The transformational project has the potential to spark additional development in West Dayton and serve as a catalyst for growth in the neighborhood. The company has committed to hiring people who live near the new facility, generating additional economic impact for the community.
Dedicated solely to healthcare laundry and linen services, the new Dayton facility will streamline operations and expand Economy Linen’s ability to serve additional hospital and healthcare accounts. The state-of-the-art plant will use environmentally friendly equipment that reduces water and natural gas usage while delivering quality hygienically clean laundry.
Read Feldman’s bio: https://www.childrensdayton.org/bios/deborah-feldman
Maureen Patterson Regional Leader Award Honorees
2005- Lt.Gen. (ret) John Nowak
2006- Dr. Daniel Curran
2007- Beverly Shillito
2008- Dennis Rediker
2009- Peter Luongo
2010- Dr. Benjamin Schuster
2011- Maureen Patterson
2012- Gen. (ret) Lester Lyles
2013- Dayton Power & Light
2014- Pam Morris
2015- Dr. Daniel Curran
2016- Cho Tak Wong
2017- Dr. Anne Eiting Klamar
2018- Clay Mathile
2019- Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar
2020- John Landess
