Business brief and People on the Move | News, Sports, Jobs

TCTC STUDENTS DO WELL: Students at Trumbull Career and Technical Center recently placed first, second and third at the 2022 Ohio Business Professionals of America (BPA) State Leadership Conference.

Junior and senior students from TCTC’s Interactive Multimedia and Web Design and Application Development programs earned the following:

• 1st place, Podcast Production Team — Porfirio Torres, senior, Southington Chalker High School; Hayden Muncy and Brooke Whittaker, seniors, Newton Falls High School; and Jade Maloney, senior, Niles McKinley High School;

• 2nd place, Python Programming — Luke Conaway, senior, Southington Chalker High School;

• 2nd place, Digital Media Production — Kady McClain, senior, Howland High School;

• 3rd place, User Experience Design Team — Andrea Angel, senior, Warren G. Harding High School; Ronald Levak, junior, Lakeview High School; Emma Ross, senior, Champion High School; and Tara Wertz, senior, Warren G. Harding High School.

The first and second place state winners will advance to the 2022 National Leadership Competition later this year in Dallas.

BPA is a career and technical student organization for students pursuing careers in business management, office administration, information technology and other related career fields.

SCHOOL MOVING: CCW Academy Pre-kindergarten and Childcare is moving to Boardman from Campbell, where it had operated since 1975.

An open house is scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon April 9 at the new location, 119 Stadium Drive, Boardman. The school tends to children 2 1/2 to 5 years old.

CU OFFERS WORKSHOP: Credit Union of Ohio will have a free virtual workshop noon Thursday to help those just starting out on their financial journey and looking to borrow money for an upcoming purchase.

The 45-minute session will review the different types of loans available, including secured and unsecured loans. Attendees will learn about the pros and cons of each loan type and get guidance on what types of loans may work best for their current situation.

This session is free and open to the public, but advanced registration is required. View the full schedule and get registered at cuofohio.org.

LORDSTOWN STUDENTS PLACE IN CHALLENGE: A team from Lordstown High School placed fourth in the 13th Annual Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley Titan Virtual Business Challenge.

The members were Alex Sherry, Jacob Fleming and Jeffery Daniels.

The competition allows students to operate a virtual company through a Web-based simulation. The students’ success depends on decisions about their product’s price and their company’s marketing, research and development, and business practices. Win or lose, students gain an understanding of how management decisions affect a company’s bottom line

This year’s Titan event was held virtually with 32 registered teams representing Austintown Fitch High School, Ashtabula County Technical & Career Campus, Jefferson High School, Lordstown High School, Mineral Ridge High School, NEO Impact Academy and Pymatuning Valley High School.

A team from Ashtabula County Technical and Career Campus was the winner.

New Businesses

PLASMA CENTER OPENING: Octapharma Plasma, Inc., a plasma collection company for the development of life-saving pharmaceutical therapies, is opening a new center at the Belmont Plaza Shopping Center at 3495A Belmont Ave., Youngstown.

The center will bring approximately 50 new jobs to the area.

It is Octapharma Plasma’s 10th donation center in the state. The company has more than 160 centers in 35 states across the U.S.

HOT AND COLD REFRESHMENT: NrGize Lifestyle Cafe will open in late summer in a new 975-square-foot space in the J.C. Penney concourse at the Eastwood Mall. The shop features the Kahala brand of coffee and also makes smoothies.

People on the Move

PROMOTION AT AIM: Aim Transportation Solutions recently promoted Chris Disantis to vice president of maintenance.

Disantis, who started with Aim in 1988 as a lead technician, has steadily climbed the ranks, holding the positions of service manager, regional service manager, regional director of maintenance, director of training and field technical support and senior director of maintenance.

LaPOLLA JOINS FIRM: The law firm of Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell Ltd. recently added James LaPolla as an associate attorney. He will support the firm in multiple practice areas at its Warren office.

LaPolla of Howland most recently was an associate attorney with the Engler Law Firm in Warren, where his experience included litigation and other areas of legal service. He graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in 2021 and earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Miami University in Ohio.

AGENT JOINS FIRM: Coldwell Banker EvenBay Real Estate has brought on Joshua Hall, Realtor, to its team.

Hall, who earned his state real estate license in 2021, also holds a management position with Harbor Freight. He is a 2003 graduate of Bristol High School and served 13 years in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of staff sergeant in the Army Corps of Engineers.