The Coshocton County Beacon April 1, 2020 | Page 4
4 • The Beacon
April 1, 2020
Community leaders working together
to help businesses and employees
By Josie Sellers
www.CoshoctonBeaconToday.com
T
he Port Authority, Chamber
of Commerce and local Ohio
Means Jobs office are working
together to develop resources to help
businesses and employees impacted
by COVID-19.
“The three of us are meeting daily
and have discussions to make sure we
are all in the loop of how to best help
our community,” said Amy Crown,
executive director of the Coshocton
County Chamber of Commerce.
Crown said the Port Authority
and chamber put together a list of
resources they are sharing online, and
Sherri Gibson from Ohio Means Jobs
Coshocton County is dealing with
many calls.
“We are staying connected and
tackling this together,” said Tiffany
Swigert, executive director of the
Coshocton Port Authority. “More
than anything we want our commu-
nity to know that we are working hard
for them.”
The community as a whole also
can help by sharing businesses’ posts
on social media.
“I am sharing each day as many
local posts as we can,” Crown said.
“Our analytics is really high, so I
know the posts are working. Each
day this past week I shared one way
Theater Therapy
to help a business or the community.”
Crown emphasized the impor-
tance of staying local, buying local
and supporting one another.
“There will be resources avail-
able and more to come,” Crown said.
“So many are faced with uncertain
times right now, but they can help.
I shared a bingo game on the cham-
ber’s Facebook page that shows how
a person can help without spending a
lot of money. Try to stay positive and
know that we will all get through this
together and Coshocton is a giving
community with many wanting to
help in different ways.”
Swigert agreed with Crown’s
thoughts. “We do have the ability to
show up and help our local businesses
in various ways right now,” she said.
“Grab a great takeout meal for your
family. Support your local specialty
stores. Purchase gift cards for later
use or for gifts for others. Push out
information for our local businesses
on social media so others see them
too.”
Swigert also said they are working
to open up some revolving loan fund-
ing to local businesses for recovery
efforts.
“We are working at a state level to
obtain permission to do so,” Swigert
said. “They do appear supportive. We
hope to have confirmation within a
few days. In the meantime we are
developing those plans in anticipa-
tion that it is going to be approved. As
Try to stay
“
positive and know
that we will all
get through this
together, and
Coshocton is a
giving community
with many want-
ing to help in
different ways.
Amy Crown
”
soon as we are able, we will share the
specifics. We will want to get this in
as many hands as possible and quick-
ly. We are pushing out information
from the federal, state and regional
sources as soon as we get them. Our
website, www.coshoctonportauthor-
ity.com, is updated daily. We are
also then pushing out information on
social media. The federal sources are
listed on our website, and the state
sources are still being developed and
will likely be announced soon.”
Gibson said Ohio Means Jobs
also has been busy providing
resources and information to dis-
placed workers.
“Here at Ohio Means Jobs, we
have turned to social media, specifi-
cally Facebook, to share information
quickly,” Gibson said. “In addition
to our usual job postings, our Ohio
Means Jobs – Coshocton County
Facebook page now has a link to
the valuable COVID-19 Response
Resources page developed by Tiffany
and Amy, unemployment benefit
information including the mass lay-
off number to expedite your claim,
the coveted password reset phone
number, and information from the
Coshocton Public Library about free
Wi-Fi. We also continue to share
information about temporary posi-
tions, walk-in interviews and on-the-
spot offers. The entire Ohio Means
Job staff is working hard to help sort
through these unique employment
issues.”
Community leaders are encouraging residents to support local businesses when and where they can. Pictured with their Shelby Theatres’ popcorn are cousins Jaelynn Hall and
Izzy Fry. Their families supported the theater during a recent popcorn sell that had traffic lined up in the Downtowner Plaza.