SitemapA century-old grocery store,
a metal-processing company, a specialized cleaning company, a heating and
cooling provider, a revitalization organization and a community leader all have
one thing in common: They were honored by the Better Business Bureau of
Mahoning Valley.
This year’s BBB’s Torch Award winners show the Mahoning
Valley’s marketplace trust is alive, said Carol Potter, the BBB Mahoning Valley
president. “The nominees are just stellar,” Potter said. “Something about this
Valley that is so remarkable is how tight we are. We are all in it together.
It’s an honor to be able to give them one of these Torch Awards.” For the third
year in a row, the BBB honored businesses, a nonprofit and a civic leader at
The Lake Club in Poland on Thursday. Recipients of the Torch Awards for
Marketplace Trust were Rulli Bros., Butech Bliss, CKC Cleaning Specialist and
William Price Heating Co. Inc. The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.
received the Torch Award for Nonprofit Excellence, and Suzanne Fleming received
the Torch Award for Civic Leadership. Rulli Bros. is a fourth-generation,
family-owned business that started on Youngstown’s East Side and now has stores
in Austintown and Boardman. Mike Rulli, a leader in the company, gave credit of
the business’ success to the employees and the customers. “They represent what
we do,” Rulli said of the employees. John Buta started Butech in 1985 and in
1999 purchased Bliss-Salem Corp. to form Butech Bliss. Today, the company has
238 employees. It’s known for its innovative, patented scrap-chopper
technology, but the company. “We really try to do a really good job for
everyone ... whether a supplier or customer,” Buta said. CKC Cleaning
Specialists of Hubbard has served Northeast Ohio, western Pennsylvania and
parts of West Virginia since 1979. The company specializes in having mobile
pressure-washing trucks, and also offers installation of LeafX Gutter
Protection system. William Price Heating and Cooling of Girard was established
in 1937. The family-owned and operated company has had four generations lead
the company to growth. The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. started in
2010 as an organization devoted to the stabilization and revitalization of city
neighborhoods. In the last five years, YNDC has repaired more than 250 homes in
Youngstown. “Without the city and the [Raymond John] Wean Foundation, this
organization would not exist in its current form,” said Ian Beniston, YNDC
director. Fleming is involved in several organizations, including the
Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority, the Mercy Health Foundation, the
Youngstown Rotary and the Raymond J. Wean Foundation.
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