The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Vermilion mayor, business owners recognized
The city of Vermilion won big at this year’s annual Erie County Economic Development Corporation meeting on Aug. 12.
Mayor Jim Forthofer and Dave and Dawn Skodny, owners of Air Filter Factory, 4805 Liberty Ave. in Vermilion, received the Visionary Leadership and Entrepreneur of the Year awards, respectively, during the meeting at the Kalahari Resort & Convention Center.
Abbey Bemis, executive
director of the Economic Development Corporation, said the award winners were chosen after receiving submissions and nominations from the corporation’s Board of Directors.
Board members are representatives from Erie County communities and private industries, Bemis said.
“Winning the award was such an honor,” Dawn Skodny said. “I was in shock because I don’t look at what we do as grandiose or all that great; it’s just our life and what we do.”
“We are very thankful for the award,” Dave Skodny said. “From where we were to where we are now, reading the (corporation’s) article and watching the video, it’s all tears.”
The couple’s air filtration distribution and manufacturing business began after a rocky start in 2009 in a bedroom in their house after a transcription company they helped run fell through.
With Air Filter Factory’s growing success, the couple said they were able to pay off a quarter million dollar deficit.
“Easy would have been to file for bankruptcy,” Dawn Skodny said. “Because we did the right thing, we were blessed.”
National recognition
In 2017 and 2018, Air Filter Factory received national recognition by making Inc. 5000’s fastest growing companies list.
The couple said they attribute their success to the faith of their staff and by always doing the right thing, no matter how difficult.
Bemis said the level of economic development achieved by the company landed it this year’s award.
“What I love about them, is I think it’s a pretty unknown story in Erie County,” she said, adding that the corporation has worked with the company for its expansion.
The mayor
Bemis said Forthofer was recognized for visionary leadership in terms of the economic development in Vermilion.
“Since Forthofer has started as mayor, his commitment to business timeliness in Vermilion has been very clear to us,” she said.
“I was surprised,” Forthofer said. “I didn’t think we were doing anything unusual.”
Businesses coming into the city has boiled down to relationships built over time between business owners and the city, he said.
“There’s really nothing sophisticated about what we’re doing,” Forthofer said.
Forthofer said in a video made by the corporation that being Vermilion’s mayor has been the best job he’s had in his career.
“One of the first things I did as mayor was tell the City Hall staff that if anyone sniffs or inquires at all about looking at building a business in Vermilion, we don’t just hand them a form and tell them, ‘Have this in by Thursday,’” he said in the video. “We swarm them ... And we’ve had some luck.
“A couple of these companies said, ‘We moved to Vermilion because we felt like you wanted us here.’ ”