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Swearingen Seeks Small Business Submissions for Economic Recovery Task Force

April 16, 2020
D. J. Swearingen News

The Ohio 2020 Economic Recovery Task Force is inviting small businesses from around the state to share their story about the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, State Rep. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) announced today.

Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) created the Ohio 2020 Economic Recovery Task Force to begin looking at ways to lay the foundation for economic renewal in the wake of COVID-19. As a member of the state task force, Swearingen has been a part of several meetings as they continue their work on reopening Ohio’s economy.

“We have already heard from several business leaders and it’s important that we directly hear from them as a part of this process in order to compile our recommendations,” said Swearingen. “This will be a key process of how and when we recommend our state should reopen its businesses.”

During today’s meeting, the task force heard from Johnathan Smith, CEO of Lancaster Bingo; David Waikem, Owner of Waikem Auto Family; and Bob Hager, Owner of Miller’s Textile Services.

“Each business owner’s experience adds more total perspective on the economic climate we are facing in our state due to the coronavirus,” said Swearingen. “I highly encourage our business owners throughout Erie and Ottawa counties to please send us your information so that your voices can be a part of the solution in this time of crisis.”

Once submitted, the task force is reviewing and inviting owners throughout the state to participate in virtual meetings to explain the impact in greater detail. If you have a business, you can email Ohio2020@ohiohouse.gov the following information:

  • Name and location of the business
  • Number of employees
  • Years in business
  • Contact information for business owners (email, phone number)
  • Brief description of nature of the business

Additionally, businesses can submit written responses to the task force. If submitting or speaking before the task force, the panel asks businesses focus on the following points:

  • If/how they are able to operate during the coronavirus.
  • What kind of financial strains have been brought on by this? If they have been in business for many years, how has this been compared to other financial downturns?
  • What kinds of obstacles do they see ahead of them once they are able to fully open up again?
  • Any governmental roadblocks ahead that the legislature should be aware of?
  • Any ideas that they might have on protocols they believe would be helpful to return to work while maintaining a level of safety to provide confidence to their customers?

For more information and updates on action from the task force, you can follow their social media pages at www.facebook.com/OHTaskForce2020/ and www.twitter.com/OHTaskForce2020. The task force has set another meeting for tomorrow, April 17 at 12:30 p.m. where they will be hearing from more business leaders in Ohio. The meeting can be live-streamed at http://ohiochannel.org/live/ohio-house-2020-economic-recovery-task-force.