The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland recently announced new members to its bank advisory councils, including 17 joining a new Shenango-Mahoning Valley Business Advisory Council, which covers parts of northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
Four members of the new regional council have ties to the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber: Guy Coviello, president & CEO, and Chamber board members John Demmler, President and CEO, 717 Credit Union, and Joe Koch Jr., Vice President, Joe Koch Construction Inc; Alexa Sweeney Blackann, interim CEO of Lake to River Economic Development.
“It’s important for us that the Fed consider real time, qualitative data directly from Mahoning and Shenango Valley companies when deciding on monetary policy. Our economic conditions are often different than Cleveland’s,” Coviello said.
Through its advisory councils, the Cleveland Fed engages with a diverse range of business, civic and community leaders to collect information on regional economic and business conditions. Advisory councils’ near-real time observations complement Bank research, enabling the Cleveland Fed to get a better picture of economic conditions in the Fourth District, which includes Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.
Other members of the Shenango-Mahoning Valley Council are:
- Ben Bush, Executive Director, Forward Lawrence Chamber & Economic Alliance, New Castle, Pennsylvania
- Rich Davis, Chief Financial Officer, Ellwood Group, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
- Corey Deible, Chief Financial Officer, PJ Dick, Trumble and Lindy Paving, New Galilee, Pennsylvania
- Gordon Edwards, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Akron Children’s Hospital, Boardman
- Tim Feeney, General Manager-Sharon Tube, Zekelman Industries, Farrell, Pennsylvania
- David George, President and CEO, Joy Baking Group, Hermitage, Pennsylvania
- Lew Kachulis, CEO, Synergy Comp, Sharon, Pennsylvania
- Frank Krieder, President, Northwest Region, and Executive Vice President, Community Commercial Banking, First National Bank, Hermitage, Pennsylvania
- Zachary Lenhart, Vice President of Operations, UPMC Horizon, Farrell, Pennsylvania, and UPMC Jameson, New Castle, Pennsylvania
- Mark McClymonds, President, McClymonds Supply & Transit Co., Portersville, Pennsylvania
- Kathy Richardson, President, Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania
- Allen Ryan, Director of Corporate Affairs, Covelli Enterprises, Warren
- Alexa Sweeney-Blackann, Interim President and CEO, Lake to River Economic Development, Youngstown
- Rod Wilt, Executive Director, Penn-Northwest Development Corp., Hermitage, Pennsylvania
The Valley also has representation on the Cleveland Fed’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council, which includes Kevin Helmick, President & CEO of Farmers National Banc Corp. in Canfield.
Members of Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council are leaders from commercial banks, thrifts and savings banks, and credit unions with assets of less than $10 billion.