Weirton Rotary wins award

By GIOVANNI P. ROSSI, Staff writer
The Rotary Club of Weirton met Wednesday to review events at the 2008 District Conference and talk with Lou Stein about his role in economic development.

Club President Rhonda Quattrocchi announced the club received an award for “Best Newsletter” this year. While this was not a cash award, Quattrocchi encouraged the newsletter staff to keep its level of coverage and professionalism.

She also informed the club of an incident affecting Rotarians in Fairmont. According to Quattrocchi, the Fairmont Field Club — a meeting space for the Rotary Club of Fairmont — burned to the ground. She noted Fairmont Rotarians were present at the conference and were accepting donations to help replace their items which were lost in the fire.

“We’ll be discussing this club’s contribution at next week’s board meeting,” she said. “It will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. at my house.”

In other business, Valley Ventures Executive Director Lou Stein gave a presentation on his position as an economic developer. Stein told Rotarians he had 35 years of experience in commercial real estate development. According to Stein, small businesses make up 85 percent of economic development.

“You have more control of your business,” he said. “You have more security and know who your boss is.”

Stein noted a major difficulty of small business establishment and expansion is the owner’s desire to keep his or her funding and ideas confidential. He noted his services are not only private, but free of charge.

A business’ plan is equally as important as its location, according to Stein. He stated he strives to make sure businesses are placed where they can grow and be effective.

With a client list that grows daily, Stein reported he enjoys his job and is willing to sit down and help direct anyone trying to start or expand their business.



(Rossi can be contacted at grossi@weirtondailytimes.com'>grossi@weirtondailytimes.com)