Castle Aviation to remodel former 356th Fighter Group/Whiskey Ranch building in Green.

GREEN Plans are in the works to replace the former 356th Fighter Group restaurant with a new facility for Castle Aviation.

The air freight and charter service wants to consolidate its operations at Akron-Canton Airport. The company currently uses several buildings at the airport.

Castle's plans call for using part of the former restaurant to house offices. The existing building would be attached to a 50,000-square-foot storage hangar. An apron and taxi way would connect the hangar to the airport's runway system.

The proposed office building and hangar would be one of the largest buildings on the airport property. Castle wants to build the storage hangar on a section of the former restaurant's parking lot.

Green's Planning and Zoning Commission meets Wednesday and is set to review the proposed project. The Planning and Zoning Department staff has recommended conditional approval of the plan, contingent on final engineering and approval by airport and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Michael Grossman formed Castle Aviation in 1986 and has operated at Akron-Canton Airport since 1999. The company bought the restaurant property last May and has been working on development plans.

The World War II themed 356th Fighter Group opened in 1989. It closed in January 2014 after a broken water pipe in the sprinkler system flooded the dining room. The location reopened two years later as the Whiskey Ranch, but that business closed in September 2017.

Wengerd honored

CEO Today magazine included Norman Wengerd, chief executive officer at GentleBrook in Hartville, among the 100 CEOs to receive the 2019 Global Award.

The CEO Today Global Award recognizes the success, innovation and strategic vision of CEOs around the world. The award examines different sectors and industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. The list of recipients can be found at CEOTodayMagazine.com.

Wengerd has led GentleBrook since 2008. GentleBrook is a not-for-profit social purpose enterprise that strives to connect people with their community through services and business opportunities. The agency provides residential and support services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, along with senior residential care options and home health services.

Under Wengerd's leadership GentleBrook has nearly doubled the number of persons served, as well as revenue growth, which allowed it to expand facilities, services and businesses for the benefit of clients and the community.

Wengerd started his career as a respiratory therapist at Mercy Medical Center. He moved through jobs of increasing responsibility and in 1986 joined the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine Health System as vice president of development. He returned to Mercy Medical in 1992 as senior vice president and chief operating officer, and also served as interim president and CEO at Mercy Medical and St. John Westshore Hospital in Cleveland.

Consumers National supports Ohio FFA

A donation to the Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum has earned Consumers National Bank a leaf on the donor tree at the camp.

Consumers is proud to support Camp Muskingum and its mission to "make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education," Ralph J. Lober, the bank's president and CEO, said in a press release.

The bank serves agriculture clients throughout its markets and appreciates having a facility like Camp Muskingum in the region, Lober said.

Marathon earns Energy Star

The Marathon Petroleum Corp. refinery in Canton was among 22 manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin that received Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Around the United States, 100 facilities received recognition for superior energy performance during 2018. The facilities reduced their energy bills by more than $400 million, saved more than 70 billion British thermal units (BTUs) of energy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 4.5 million metric tons, the EPA said.

The Energy Star industrial program provides industry-specific benchmarking tools and resources that help facilities compare energy performance and set meaningful goals. Facilities in the top 25 percent of energy performance nationwide receive the award.

Video looks at Gradall

A new video looks at the Vacall family of products and provides an up-close tour of Gradall's factories in New Philadelphia.

The 12-minute video was produced to provide insight for customers and distributors who haven't been able to visit the facility, Bill Petrole, vice president for Vacall products, said in a news release. It also will be used by the company's human resources department to help new employees learn about the company and its culture.

Petrole said the company believes the video also will be of interest to people who are curious about Vacall and Gradall brand equipment.

The video looks at manufacturing processes used to build Vacall sewer cleaning, hydro excavation, industrial vacuum and sweeper models.

Battle of the pop-ups back at Belden Village

Entrepreneurs trying to kick start their business idea are encouraged to enter another "battle of the pop-up" competition at Belden Village Mall.

Deadline for submitting an entry is April 19. The winner receives four months of rent-free space in the mall, along with a $500 merchandising package.

The contest is an opportunity for someone interested in testing an idea, product or service, Jennifer Grisez, the mall's marking director, said in a press release. "We’ve had such success with this contest, including Candace Love Calmese's Candy Glam, which is currently located near Center Court. We're excited to see what our local entrepreneurs submit," she said.

Entrants should be ready to launch their business by July 1, and operate during mall hours until Oct. 31. Entries will be judged on several criteria, including business strategy, concept creativity, and likelihood of profitability. For more information, visit ShoppingBeldenVillageMall.com.

Reach Edd at 330-580-8484 or edd.pritchard@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @epritchardREP