Pavliga Hosts Portage County Business Owners at Statehouse

State Rep. Gail Pavliga (R-Portage County) hosted Portage County business owners at the Statehouse on Tuesday, Dec. 7. The event at the capital gave local business owners the opportunity to meet with several representatives, participate in a capitol tour and roundtable discussion, and met with the Ohio House Business First Caucus.

During the roundtable discussion, business owners highlighted several topics for Pavliga including workforce retention and recruitment. 

“I thought the roundtable was nice and was an intimate discussion,” said Michelle Madden, CEO of Independence of Portage County. “With being a social service entity, this was important to Portage County. I welcome more healthy, open discussions because I believe that is when the magic happens. The nice thing is that Representative Pavliga and State Senator Cirino have taken an interest in our business as the workforce issue has been exacerbated since the pandemic. I appreciate her assistance and willingness to listen to us.” 

Pavliga worked with local chambers to organize the event to gauge the business community on important issues and to give them a chance to experience a day at the Statehouse.

“My thoughts behind the event was to take a day and invite members of our business community to Columbus to speak with me and other public officials on issues that are important to them,” said Pavliga. “We have a lot of critical bills right now in the General Assembly on all kinds of various issues, including ones helping and uplifting the business community during these difficult times.”