PREMIER BANK EMPLOYEE AWARDED: Premier Bank has awarded Ashley Douglas, commercial loan closer, the seventh annual Jeff Vereecke Community Impact Award.

The award recognizes one individual who shares in the bank’s dedication and passion for spreading kindness, doing good deeds and making communities stronger by demonstrating superior service to the community in which they work and / or live.

Douglas was selected as the recipient of the award by Premier Bank’s executive management team and by Karen Vereecke, widow of Jeff Vereecke, former executive vice president and Northern Market Area president for Premier Bank, who died of cancer in 2014.

Douglas’ community involvement includes working with parents and staff of the Alta Head Start Agency and as chair of the policy council and the agency’s location at the Oak Hill Renaissance Center.

She participates in Premier Bank’s Mentor Program and the Explorer Leadership Series, which is a 12-course series covering many different leadership topics. Douglas also volunteers at the Youngstown CityScape’s Streetscape event, the Youngstown Holiday Parade Light Up Night, the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk and the Panaerathon.

She also volunteers for the United Way of Youngstown & the Mahoning Valley, the Beatitude House and donates items to local food, toy and clothing drives as well as setting up at community events to help teach financial wellness education to both adults and children.

As part of the award, Douglas received $2,500 to donate to nonprofit organizations of her choice. She chose to donate $1,500 to Alta Head Start and $1,000 to the United Way of Youngstown & the Mahoning Valley.

AIM RECOGNIZED: Girard-based Aim Transportation Solutions has been named by the Commercial Carrier Journal, a trade publication, the 2024 CCJ Innovator of the Year for Aim’s Road Rescue feature on its smartphone app, Aim Navigator.

The add-on streamlines and enhances the way Aim customer drivers request roadside service and how Aim’s Road Rescue team manages and responds to over-the-road maintenance calls.

The award recognizes companies within the commercial transportation industry that demonstrate exceptional innovation, efficiency and impact.

Aim was joined by a class of other industry-leading fleets recognized by CCJ editors, including Ryder, FirstFleet, Solar Transport, Walmart, ArcBest, Brakebush Transportation, FedEx, Budd Van Lines, Averitt, DHL and Garner Trucking.

COMPANY HITS MILESTONE: PALO Creative, a Youngstown-based marketing agency, is celebrating its 25th anniversary throughout 2024.

Founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Rob Palowitz, PALO Creative has evolved from a catalog design boutique producing direct mailers and catalogs into an award-winning marketing firm.

Mainly partnering with business-to-business focused companies, their clients range from Fortune 500 industrial manufacturers to professional services, financial, and health care providers, as well as e-commerce web-based companies.

To mark the milestone, PALO Creative has planned a series of activities throughout 2024, including a special client and team appreciation reception, new brand swag, participation in community causes and various important business announcements that reflect the marketing agency’s commitment to growth and strong customer relationships.

TNP TO OFFER WORKSHOP: Through the Youngstown Minority Business Assistance Center and 717 Credit Union, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership is offering a free workshop for contractors looking for business and grant opportunities 5 to 7 p.m. March 13 at the credit union’s corporate operations building in Warren.

TNP and the Trumbull County Land Bank are seeking contractors to perform home repair, lead remediation and residential property renovations as both organizations are working through significant grant allocations. TNP can help contractors obtain some of the certifications for lead work.

Those interested in attending are encouraged to register by March 6 at mbacworkshop.eventbrite.com.

People on

the move

MVMC ADDS STAFF: Mary Unger has joined the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition as accounting and operations manager.

Unger, a graduate of Youngstown State University and Trumbull County native, spent 27 years with Trumbull-Mahoning Medical Group, including serving as chief financial officer. She has also been a controller with MVI Homecare and Progressive Quality Care.

Unger grew up in a manufacturing family with a father who worked at Youngstown Sheet & Tube.

The role includes fiscal management plus an operational excellence function that includes oversight of the wage and benefit survey, internal key performance indicators and event preparation.

COMCAST PROMOTES: Ricky Frazier Jr. has been appointed senior vice president of Comcast’s Keystone Region. He oversees the organization’s operational, strategic and financial performance across western, central and northeastern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia and the Maryland panhandle.

Frazier joined Comcast more than 20 years ago as part of the Customer Experience organization and has since successfully led a variety of teams across the country, including most recently as vice president, digital platforms, responsible for deploying new customer experience technology.

Send news for business briefs, new businesses or people on the move to business@tribtoday.com, or visit the Virtual Newsroom at www.vindy.com or www.tribtoday.com.