Newly created position needed to continue the strong momentum

• To view the position description, click here.

TIFFIN, OHIO – April 29, 2021 – Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership (TSEP) announced today that it has launched a search to fill its newly created position of Operations Manager. Position description and requirements can be found at tsepsearch.com. Resumes and cover letters will be accepted by email only to tsepsearch@tiffinseneca.org until 5 p.m. June 14, 2021.   

TSEP President & CEO David Zak was excited to make the announcement. “Each member of our team believes in our mission and appreciates being able to work hard every day to make this a great place to live, work and run a business. Our biggest challenge is sustaining our pace. We are currently leading and managing 84 initiatives, 184 projects, 13 committees, and 140 volunteers with no administrative or operational support. A much-needed internally-focused addition to the team sets us up for long-term success.”

Since 2014, TSEP has expanded from two full-time staff focusing on four primary development areas to a team of five plus interns and other third-party service providers, handling the following 17 areas of activity:

• Amy Reinhart: Downtown Development & Revitalization, Main Street.
• Carol Kern: Employer Recruitment & Training, Workforce Development, Business Outreach.
• Nick Dutro: Industrial, Commercial, Residential, Real Estate Development; Media Relations.
• Audrey Flood: Entrepreneurship, Community, Rural Development; Social Media; Administrative.
• David Zak: Organizational, Tech-Based, International Development; Strategic Planning.

Dean Keller, President of the First National Bank of Sycamore and Chair of TSEP’s Board of Directors, believes the timing is right, “Our passionate, dedicated, and talented leaders on the TSEP team are accomplishing more than at any time since its creation in 1983. The board is committed to continuing the quality and quantity of our work, and therefore unanimously supports the hiring of a new Operations Manager to allow TSEP to do just that.”

Since 2014, TSEP has achieved the following external results, among others:

• Ranked every year in the top two percent nationally for economic development with 42 large projects.
• Helped create 2,000 new jobs and attract $422 million in new investment.
• Made 1,262 calls on businesses, inventoried 175 business resources, and logged 649 projects.
• Created four new incentive programs, administered eight others, and built a speculative building.
• Received state Main Street accreditation every year since 2015 and national since 2017.
• Received 8 state awards for downtown revitalization and one honorable mention.
• Helped locate 70 businesses and facilitate almost 100 façade projects in downtown Tiffin.

Tiffin Mayor Aaron Montz, a member of TSEP’s Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, supports the search: “The results speak for themselves. We have a top-notch aggressive and innovative economic, downtown and community development organization, and we can’t afford to take our foot off the gas. The Operations Manager is the next logical step to continuing the momentum.”

Since 2014, TSEP has achieved the following internal results, among others:

• Led the creation of 14 strategic plans and studies, and a community branding initiative.
• Issued 262 press releases, generating 402 digital and print and 47 television stories.
• Built a Facebook page with 6,000+ likes, 929 posts, a reach of 2.2 million, and 8.3 million impressions.
• Published 148 e-mail newsletters with twice the average open rate for non-profits (30-50%).
• For members and the board, provided 297 updates, held 30 events, and published 15 reports.
• More than doubled both public support and private fundraising and built over 6 months of reserves.
• Increased the number of volunteers from 30 to 140, the number of committees from four to 13.

Seneca County Commission President Mike Kerschner, also a member of TSEP’s Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, also strongly supports this action. “TSEP works extremely hard to promote our community, communicate with stakeholders, and drive economic growth. I appreciate their sound and fiscally conservative approach to running the organization, and I am confident this new addition to the team will have a great return on investment.” 

About the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership

Started in 1983 as the Seneca Industrial and Economic Development Corp. (SIEDC), the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership is a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to driving positive economic, downtown, and community development in Tiffin and Seneca County, Ohio. Tiffin and Seneca County consistently rank in the top two percent of communities nationally for economic development and has one of the most recognized and award-winning downtown Main Street programs in Ohio. Learn more about the great things going on in Tiffin and Seneca County at www.tiffinseneca.org.