Page 277 - BWM March 2013

March 2013 | Business World Magazine | 277
Millard Fuller, the esteemed founder and former president of the afford-
able housing initiative known as Habitat for Humanity, once said, “For
a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love
and concern for each other.” And to the extent concern and caring fos-
ter the societal foundation from which healthy communities emerge,
the same holds true to creating a thriving community bank. That’s the
philosophy of an Ohio-based community bank on a mission to make a
beneficial difference by exceeding in service and investing in its com-
munity so that businesses may better grow and families better achieve
their dreams of prosperity.
In Northeastern Ohio, the community of Minerva can be found situ-
ated among the intersection of the three Ohio counties of Stark, Car-
roll and Columbiana. Though Minerva’s population is less than 4,000,
it is located along historic Route 30’s crossing with State Route 183,
making it a short drive to the larger community of Canton, and only
little more than an hour from the larger cities of Pittsburgh and Cleve-
land. Situated on the historic Sandy-Beaver Canal, it has been nuanced
by notables over the years, such as Willard and Issac Pennock (the
brothers who patented and manufactured the first steel railway car in
America), and Charles E. Wilson (U.S. Secretary of Defense to Presi-
dent Eisenhower). The community also served as something of a retreat
to President WilliamMcKinley who frequently spent his summers at a
, 2011