Although the business climate in America has been cloudy, almost stormy, since the millennium, business in Ada shown bright in 2015.
Deb Curlis, president of the Ada Area Chamber of Commerce, reports these major advances during the past year:
* Construction began on the $6 million Vancrest Nursing Home on SR 81.
* St. Rita's broke ground for a $1 million health facility near the nursing home.
*Not technically a business, but another major construction project underway in the Village is the $16 million water treatment plant.
All three of these sizeable projects will be completed in 2016.
Recent national reports indicate that enclosed shopping malls have seen there day and that strip malls and big box stores are struggling to make sales quotas. On-line shopping is a challenge for brick and mortar stores.
However, a bright spot in the economy is the turnaround in smaller stores, the type seen in Ada, especially on Main Street here.
Smaller stores, like those found in Ada, thrive because of personal service, friendliness, and unique goods and services.
Here's what Ada gained in 2015:
*Gallery for the Arts
*Unshaken Designs (Graphic Art)
*Gibson Construction
*In Gibson’s Building – Wine and Design, Streamline Insurance Solutions, Ada Spray Foam, Home Town Inspections, Ada Mechanical, and All Star Tumbling.
New businesses are welcomed by the Chamber, not with the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony but with a broom to "sweep in the new business."
The local Chamber sponsored several events, including a Spring event in the park, the popular Harvest and Herb Fest, Halloween tortilla chip contest and pumpkin hunt, Small Business Saturday event, and Merry on Main music. The Chamber also helped sponsor the Lima Symphony Orchestra Fourth of July concert on campus.
Community Health Professionals celebrated its 40th year of service with a proclamation from the Ohio Secretary of State John Husted.
Curlis, the Chamber president, said, "I am hoping 2016 will continue to see a lot of new businesses coming to Ada. We have a great start with Vancrest and St. Rita’s opening new buildings this year."
