The North Central Ohio Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame inducted three new members into the hall on Friday night. In front of the packed Ralph Phillips Conference Center at the Kehoe Center, three local entrepreneurs received a commemorative portrait in honor of their induction: Donald Chambers, Walter Chandler Stevens, Jr., and Robert Duane Hord.
The purpose of the North Central Ohio Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame is to honor the entrepreneurial spirit of north central Ohio residents, past and present. The creativity, boldness of purpose and community involvement of these entrepreneurs exemplifies business excellence in the region. The hall itself, located in the conference center, provides a lasting tribute to those who are inducted and serves to inspire new generation of entrepreneurs who are growing businesses in north central Ohio.
“Our journey this evening really engages us in marveling at how it is to think outside the box, outside of a structured setting, and to have vision become reality,” said Betty Preston, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at North Central State College.
Carol Carbary, Executive Director of the North Central State College Foundation, described Chambers, Stevens and Hord as three innovative business leaders, noting they are also major employers in the area.
“They each are blessed with the entrepreneurial spirit and the leadership trait that comes with it,” she said. “They believe strongly in supporting their communities, and are always looking for mountains to climb, securing the future of business and other opportunities.”
To be eligible, nominees for the Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame must have started, or substantially grown a business, in one of five north central Ohio counties, and have acted in a capacity to promote entrepreneurship in the area.
They should have demonstrated innovation by taking their businesses to new heights or by approaching business in creative ways, and they should have shown a commitment to the community through leadership by giving of personal time and/or resources.
The night’s first inductee, Donald Chambers, founded J&B Acoustical Inc. in 1957 at the age of 47 in his father-in-law’s barn. Today, the company is run by three generations of Chambers family members and specializes in many key aspects of the commercial construction process and finishes.
“I was utterly dumbfounded when they called me on the phone,” said Chambers. “To be recognized acknowledges my family, who has backed me all the way with no hesitation whatsoever. Four generations of the same family are involved in this organization, and then we have the team that made J&B what it is today.”
Chambers’ advice to future entrepreneurs was to go to school and get an education first. With his own education ending after high school, Chambers said he feels he missed out. He also suggested joining an association involved in the area of business starting out.
“You will learn so much from people across the country,” he said. “They’ll be your mentors; they’ll tell you things they wouldn’t tell their neighbor.”
Walter Chandler Stevens, Jr., otherwise known as Chan, received the second induction of the night. Stevens originally started work at the age of 12 with his father, who founded Stevens Manufacturing, a thermostat manufacturer that specialized in small tabletop appliances.
Stevens went on to open a Stevens Controls plant in Ontario, Canada that later sold to Essex Wire in 1967. He then bought Norstat and moved operations to Norwalk, Ohio before selling the business and lines when competition from China expanded in 1995.
Stevens started all over in Put-in-Bay when he “inherited” a business from his son, the younger Walter Chandler Stevens III, running a robust moped rental business on South Bass Island. At one time, the cart rental business boasted the largest fleet of six and eight-passenger carts in the eastern and mid-western United States.
“I was shocked (to be inducted) because I don’t consider what I was doing to be that much,” said Stevens. “I always laugh and say if MIT found out a graduate of theirs was working as a golf cart mechanic, I’d lose my diploma.”
Stevens said owning three different businesses has been an interesting ride. His advice to future entrepreneurs was to “try it” as long as you are able and interested. He feels people are afraid to fail.
“Even if you fall flat on your face, try it,” said Stevens. “This is a great community to do it. You’ve got a lot of support, there are a lot of people who are involved; it’s a small enough area you get to know people and you can get help.”
The night’s third inductee, Robert Duane Hord, owns a fifth-generation family-owned pig, cow and grain farm in north central Ohio. Hord Livestock, Hord Family Farms and Hord Elevator has 6,500 tillable acres and production reaching 600 tons finished feed daily.
Upon graduating from Libery High School in 1963, at age 18 Hord bought 154 acres for $40,000 with a co-signed note by his father, and 50 years later continues to farm his first farm. The Hord family mission as farmers is to be efficient and environmentally sound agricultural stewards with Christian values thoroughly intertwined throughout their business.
Hord said his first thought was “why me?” when he discovered he would be inducted into the hall of fame.
“The things that I’ve done are just fortunately I’ve been at the right place at the right time a few times,” he said. “I give all the credit to the Lord because he’s let me do what I’ve loved to do.”
Hord said the first thing to do as a budding entrepreneur is to earn people’s confidence, no matter if it’s a coworker or someone you’d like to do business with.
“Once you get you get their confidence, you’ve got to live up to what you said you were going to do,” he said. “That’s probably been one of the things I’ve tried very hard to do what I said I was going to do. If your word is good and you do what’s right, you’ll be successful.”
Sponsors of the 2014 hall of fame evening were Cleveland Financial Group – Chuck Hahn, CenturyLink, Covert Manufacturing, Jay Industries, Milliron Industries, PR Machine Works, Richland Bank, and Taylor Metal Products. Supporters include Franklin University, Adena Corporation, Gorman Rupp Company, Follett Campus Bookstore, Mansfield Distributing Company, Mechanics Bank, and Newman Technology.
“Our journey this evening really engages us in marveling at how it is to think outside the box, outside of a structured setting, and to have vision become reality,” said Betty Preston.
