If someone loses a leg or arm due to war or accident, a recent endowment from Parker Hannifin Corporation to Cleveland State University is aiming to place the school among the top national options for replicating that lost limb.

Parker Hannifin, a manufacturer of motion technologies, has pledged $1.5 million to CSU for a professorship and the overall study of human motion and control. The money will be spent on a new laboratory in human motion. The lab will include treadmills, motion sensors and three-dimensional imaging equipment, all targeted at developing improved methods to duplicate healthy limbs in prosthetics and orthotics, says Joe Mosbrook, CSU's director of communications.

Working in the laboratory will be biomechanics researcher Dr. Antonie van den Bogert, named the Parker Hannifin Endowed Chair in Human Motion and Control. Van den Bogert began his tenure this fall in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at CSU’s Fenn College of Engineering.

The researcher is known for the development of computer simulation methods studying the effects of neuromuscular control and mechanical devices on human movement. Much of his prior work concentrated on the mechanics of sports performance and injuries. "He's a leader in this field," says Mosbrook. "We are very grateful to have someone of his caliber at the university."

Long term, the Parker Hannifin endowment could make CSU an epicenter for critical prosthetics and orthotics technology and research. The company "has been a great partner and benefactor to us for a long time," Mosbrook says. "This [endowment] is an important step forward for the university and the entire region."

  
SOURCE: Joe Mosbrook
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

A parent can cover their child's eyes when there is violence on television, but who will do that for a child when they're exposed to real-life trauma? That is the question United Way is answering with its 2-1-1 community access line, a 24-hour help number that's part of Cuyahoga County’s Defending Childhood initiative.

United States Attorney General Eric Holder and Cuyahoga County Executive Edward FitzGerald hosted a news conference September 28 at Martin Luther King Jr. High School to announce a $2 million Justice Department grant that will aid Defending Childhood programs including the community access line.

The phone line is manned by United Way staff members. These trained staffers determine if Defending Childhood services can help a child who has witnessed violence or experienced trauma. Diagnosing and treating children who have lived through violence can be a significant step in helping them avoid trouble later in life, says Stephen Wertheim, president/CEO of United Way.

 "The trauma a kid goes through can impact their function in society," Wertheim says. "We're trying to get to these problems at the root."

While at the high school event, Holder participated in a round-table discussion with students and teachers. He later met with a group of law enforcement officers and social workers that were also on hand.

The impact of violence on children has reached "national crisis" proportions, Holder told the audience during the Sept. 28 conference. Assessing and screening the young people victimized by violence must take precedence over merely prosecuting those perpetrating the trauma.

Studies have shown how post-traumatic stress can negatively effect children, says FitzGerald. 

"If a child witnesses horrific acts of violence, they're more likely to be involved in the justice system themselves," says the county executive. Through a preventative measure like the 2-1-1 help line, "the idea is to increase public safety rather than just incarcerating everyone."

 
SOURCE: Stephen Wertheim, Ed FitzGerald
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

TWIST Creative had been adverse the word "agency" for many years, as the term represented something the Cleveland-based branding firm was not. That all changed eight months ago when TWIST shifted its strategy to target bigger clients, spurring a period of growth that has led to a flurry of new hires as well as new customers.

That's four new hires and about 20 new clients to be exact, says Michael Ozan, TWIST's president and chief creative officer, who in 2000 founded the firm with wife Connie. Add promotions and an overall company realignment to that list and TWIST has had a very busy 2012.

"We looked at our market position and decided to turn in the direction of being an agency," says Ozan. "We needed more people [on hand] to make that change."

In September, TWIST hired a new director of media relations, an art director and two designers. The agency also named marketing director Josh Taylor as its new director of strategy and development, while lead senior designer Chris Oldham is now director of design operations.

To its burgeoning client portfolio TWIST added 20 new brands, including big-name consumer product companies Hoover Vacuum and Hinkley Lighting; aerospace industry manufacturer Voss Industries; and multi-market restaurateur Paladar.

This was an exciting year, but one also full of difficult changes, says design director Connie Ozan. Although the former boutique is now a full-service brand agency, the challenge for TWIST looking ahead is to continue to grow its position within the market.

 "There's been lots of energy over the last eight months," she says. "It will take awhile for the new team to gel, but 2013 is going to be a great year."
 

SOURCE:  Michael Ozan, Connie Ozan
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

How do you export an entire region? That's the question Northeast Ohio's promoters are pondering as the investment in local tourism is projected to reach into the billions of dollars over the next few years. Harnessing the economic power of the tourism industry means telling the world loud and proud, "Northeast Ohio is the place to be."

Bringing the 18-county Cleveland Plus region to the disposable income-flush masses should not be a hard sell these days, says Lexi Hotchkiss, director of communications with Positively Cleveland, the region's tourism and economic development group.

Cuyahoga County alone is undergoing a $2 billion tourism investment revival over the next five years, a confluence of high-profile projects including a new casino, a medical mart and convention center, and the dramatic renovation of Cleveland's illustrious art museum.

"Two-billion is not chump change," says Hotchkiss. "It's a big deal that can have a domino effect [on the area]."

Tourism is bigger business locally than many people realize, adds Hotchkiss. The industry is Cuyahoga County's fourth-largest employer. In 2011, 30 million people visited the Cleveland Plus region, sustaining 163,000 jobs with $13 billion in economic impact. During that same time frame, 14 million visitors decended upon Cleveland, supporting 61,000 jobs.

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A healthcare industry vet and resident of Cleveland since 1982, Jim Bennett was hired in April by developer MMPI Inc. to oversee the $465 million medical mart and convention center. The complex is expected to draw 200,000 visitors annually, add thousands of new jobs, and generate about $50-$75 million in economic impact per year.

Thanks to game-changing, large-scale architectural efforts largely absent during the recession, Cleveland steadily is catching up to other similarly sized cities in terms of design. Long known as a "brick city," Cleveland's recent and forthcoming high-profile projects are adding progressive new materials to the mix.

It took 305 straw bales harvested from a nearby farm to build one couple's fairly tale home. The three-bedroom, 1,800-square-foot "Asian Craftsman-style" house in Cleveland Heights is the only one like it in Greater Cleveland. Unlike the straw house in The Three Little Pigs, this is one built to withstand rain, wind, snow and the Big Bad Wolf.

The Cleveland Plus Marketing Alliance is celebrating its fifth birthday promoting Northeast Ohio as a vigorous regional entity. Like any proud parent, Cleveland Plus executive director Rick Batyko is eager to show off the campaign's accomplishments over its first five years of life. Fresh Water writer Douglas J. Guth spoke with Batyko about the campaign's successful past as well as the Wadsworth native's hopes for the region's future.

While the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has no direct involvement in the sexy new downtown development taking place, the independently run agency's emphasis on vital infrastructure improvements is no less important to the region's bottom line, says president and CEO William Friedman.

Video games no longer are child's play. A multi-billion dollar industry, video game development seduces countless wannabes, each hoping to design the next Call of Duty. Helping to train those people is Cleveland Institute of Art, which recently launched its Game Design program. Combining classes in 3D modeling, game mapping, screenwriting and sound design, this challenging program is no child's play either.

The prevailing impression of regionalism that has been bandied about Northeast Ohio for the better part of a decade is all wrong, says a collaborative group of area nonprofits. While the consolidation of countless municipalities is useful, it is not intrinsically regionalism. True regionalism, they argue, is defined by economic activity -- not political boundaries.