It’s been a week of standout performances for Marion and Marion County.  As this is written, Henry Ford, Zora Neale Hurston, Zelda Fitzgerald, H.L. Mencken, and Harry Houdini are telling their stories through the Ohio Chautgauqua program.  Sponsors like Commercial Savings Bank, The Marion Star, and OSU Marion should be thanked for bringing the Ohio Humanities Council’s living history program to the big tent on the OSUM campus.  What a unique and fascinating way to learn about such interesting characters from our recent past.

At the same time, some forty artists are displaying their creations at “Celebrate Summer,” Marion’s outdoor arts fair, for the first time in the growing cultural hub under the shadow of the Palace Theatre in Downtown Marion.  If you haven’t noticed, our Downtown is undergoing a fairly rapid metamorphosis.  The Cruise-In for Dialysis several weeks ago was a smashing success as Marion residents strolled hand-in-hand amid the vintage automobiles and “shot the loop” in some of them.

Kenny Rogers brought his brand of ballads and country music to the Palace Stage.

Those were the obvious performances.  But there were others--less obvious, perhaps, than the street fairs and Chautauqua events, but no less important for the future of this community.  June 23^rd and 24^th, Dofasco’s board of directors arrived by charter flight and motor coach in Marion to conduct an inspection of the former LTV tube plant they bought in September of 2002 and to hold their June board of directors meeting.  During their time here, these accomplished executives got a look at the technologically advanced tube-making operation in Marion’s Dual Rail Industrial Park and the people who make it run.  As I walked through the Dofasco Marion operation with them (a vice president with the Bank of Nova Scotia, an executive with IBM, among others), it was apparent how impressed they were by the work being done here and the enthusiasm of Dofasco Marion’s workforce. 

Another standout performance award goes to Bruce Jenkins, who so capably runs Marion’s Holiday Inn Express.  That’s where the Dofasco Board stayed during their time here in Marion—and, as is his custom, Bruce and his staff made them feel welcome.  But that’s routine.  What’s not routine was Bruce’s effort, despite another large gathering in his hotel, to make the executive suite available for a hastily-arranged, face-to-face meeting between Governor Bob Taft and Dofasco President and CEO Don Pether.  Going the extra mile and providing that extra touch of hospitality could easily, I think, pay huge dividends to this community in the future.

On the other side of the city, at the east end of Innovation Drive in the Airport Industrial Park, a white corporate jet was parked on a special jet parking area just a short walk to Silver Line Window’s Marion plant.  Inside the 300,000 square foot window-making facility, company president Ken Silverman was meeting with employees and management, discussing Silver Line’s profit sharing plans.  The performance of the Marion plant, say corporate officials, has been outstanding—so much so, in fact, that Mr. Silverman is thinking about expanding it in the not-so-distant future, if things continue going well.  And, he told us, he’s moved the company’s entire American Craftsman brand customer service operation out of New Jersey—housing it now, here in Marion. 

While entertainers are routinely applauded for their talents, as well they should be—hats off to Marion’s other top performers, who display their talents day in and day out, doing their jobs to the best of their abilities.  It is their performances that will pull Marion to a new level of prosperity.  It is because of them that we’ll see additional investment and new jobs created by Dofasco, Silver Line, Whirlpool and other companies here now—or yet to come.  Reputations are made one day, one shift, one person at a time.  And this community is getting the reputation it deserves—as a place where honest people work hard and take pride in producing value for their employers, their customers and their community.  It’s been a great week of great performances both public and private.  Bravo.