NORTHEAST OHIO REGIONAL IMPROVEMENT CORPORATION
The Northeast Ohio Regional Improvement Corporation (“NEOHRIC”) is an Ohio Revised Code 1702 Non-Profit Corporation and an ORC 1724 Community Improvement Corporation chartered in Ohio and based in the City of Canton to pursue civic, commercial, economic, educational, and industrial retention and development projects in the general Northeastern Ohio area. NEOHRIC has been granted the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s 501(c)(3) tax exemption status as a private non-operating foundation. NEOHRIC was created on 4-25-2021 from the former ORC 1702 & ORC 1724 501(c)(3) private foundation Conotton-Sandy-Tuscarawas Valley Community Improvement Corporation (“CSTVCIC”) created on 2-25-2009 and based in the Village of Mineral City (Tuscarawas County) that was investigating civic, commercial, economic, and industrial retention and development projects in the intersecting Carroll, Stark, and Tuscarawas County area acquiring the ORC 3375.19 Stark County District Library’s ad hoc Stark County Area Broadband Task Team (“SCABBTT”) that was investigating countywide telecommunications improvements for Stark County. CSTVCIC was renamed NEOHRIC and moved to Canton, and the SCDL remains independent of NEOHRIC.
After numerous meetings and research, SCABBTT secured about $67K of grants from the Hoover Foundation and other sources, issued an extensive RFP for an improved broadband study for Stark County, retained nationally renowned Magellan Advisors to conduct the study, helped collect data and interviewed multiple stakeholders, worked with and closely monitored Magellan to develop the final report, and presented the results to a large audience at Kent State University-Stark in North Canton. Trumbull County Planning Commission later used SCABBTT’s Stark County study as a blueprint for their countywide broadband network serving all of their end users whose planning has since been assumed by the Eastgate Council of Governments.
NEOHRIC has solid relationships with public broadband network providers including the Medina County Port Authority and the Ohio Cities of Dublin, Fairlawn, and Hudson. NEOHRIC occasionally arranges tours of those public network providers for other political subdivision officials interested in pursuing their own broadband networks. Those public network providers are graciously willing to share their information, experiences, financials, state of the industry, best practices, and lessons learned to ensure similar public projects are equally as successful and, in the future, will enable all regional public networks to be interconnected for increased benefits and scaled efficiencies. NEOHRIC also has relationships with public broadband advocacy organizations including among others:
NEOHRIC is also investigating various other projects involving public markets, true equal open access, and increased logistics efficiencies.
- Dr. Daniel Lee Van Epps, Ed.D., Chair, Executive Director, and Secretary. Dr. Van Epps, 59, of Dover (OH) is a 2013 graduate of West Virginia University having obtained a Doctorate of Education in Technology Education with an emphasis of Systems Analysis. His 774-page dissertation was entitled “Emulation of Equal Open Access and Competition Creation in the Wireline Telecommunications Local and Last Mile Market Segments”. He also completed a graduate assistantship at WVU’s National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium, collaborating with industry experts to design curriculum and provide instructional technology support. Dr. Van Epps was born in Detroit (MI), graduated from Dover High School (OH), completed B.A. and M.A. degrees in Telecommunications/ Information Systems and Technology from Michigan State University, a certificate in Fiber Optics Technology from Lansing (MI) Community College, a Master’s Certificate in Intelligent Transportation Systems from the University of Michigan, CDPs in Renewable Energy from Ohio State University @ Wooster, and a railroad business class at Carnegie Mellon University (PA) is pending. He was the former executive director of the CSTVCIC, is the executive director of the Stillwater Valley Community Improvement Corporation located in the Dennison-Uhrichsville area of Tuscarawas County (OH), and was a former SCABBTT core team member.
- Sean S. Durkin, Trustee. Mr. Durkin was the former CIO of Stark County, and was a SCABBTT affiliate.
- W. Bryan Harris, Trustee. Mr. Harris is a retired Professional Engineer and Registered Communications Distribution Designer, was the business manager of Scheeser Buckley Mayfield, was the CIO of the Stark County District Library, and was a former SCABBTT core team member.
- Daniel L. McKimm, Trustee. Mr. McKimm is the emeritus founder of ProTech Security of North Canton (now owned by his son), and is a U.S. Navy veteran who specialized in top secret cryptographic High Frequency Direction Finding telecommunications circuit connectivity during the Viet Nam War era. He was involved for four years of service protecting U.S. national security interests against China’s expanding military threats and later then-USSR's Naval prowess, all in coordination with the National Security Agency. Those efforts remained his concern post-Naval service as did his post career involvement in private and public safety telecommunications and its convergence with IP-centric broadband networks. Upon recognizing SCABBTT’s confluences in promotion of an open access, decentralized, community-owned fiber network model, his interest was piqued given the Chinese Communist Party’s emergence with a mission involving hybrid, non-kinetic, economic and now most significantly cybersecurity communication network threats. He was a former SCABBTT core team member.
- Jacqueline DeGarmo is a NEOHRIC affiliate. Mrs. DeGarmo is a principal of Hilliard Jeane, is a Stark County Educational Service Center board member, a retired Plain Local School District (Stark County, OH) superintendent, a former principal, and was the former co-chair of SCABBTT.
- Richard Regula, Stark County Commissioner, SCABBTT Chair
- Marc Schneider, Aultman Health Foundation Chief Innovation Officer, SCABBTT Co-Chair
- Tena Wilson, Director, Stark County District Library, SCABBTT core team
- Victor Pavona, Director, Small Business Development Center at KSU-Stark, SCABBTT core team, retired NEOHRIC trustee
- Liz Getz, Aultman Health Foundation
- Rick Hawkins, Timken Steel
- David Devich, Timken Company
- Robert Belden, Belden Brick CEO
- Bruce Beadle, A.R.E.
- Sam Falletta, Incept
- Geoff Karcher, The Karcher Group
- Alan Harold, Stark County Auditor
- Patrick Barton, City of Canton CIO
- Dan Moeglin, City of Canton
- Larry Marcus, City of Massillon
- Vince Marion, City of Louisville
- Rob Hankins, ArtsinStark
- David Forman, Stark County ESC
- Dale Rush, Canton Local School District
- Mark Butterworth, Herbert W Hoover Foundation
- David Kaminski, Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce
- Steve Katz, Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce
- Doug Lane, North Canton Chamber of Commerce
- Bob Brick, Agile Networks
- Andrew Elliot, Timken Company
- Robert Gessner, Massillon Cable TV CEO
- Steve Walker, Niles Printing
- Ron Moss, Ohio Growth Partners
- Chris Thomas, Time Warner Cable
- Seth Peterson, Stark County Auditor’s Office
- Daniel Muller, former CIO, Timken Company (retired member)
After numerous meetings and research, SCABBTT secured about $67K of grants from the Hoover Foundation and other sources, issued an extensive RFP for an improved broadband study for Stark County, retained nationally renowned Magellan Advisors to conduct the study, helped collect data and interviewed multiple stakeholders, worked with and closely monitored Magellan to develop the final report, and presented the results to a large audience at Kent State University-Stark in North Canton. Trumbull County Planning Commission later used SCABBTT’s Stark County study as a blueprint for their countywide broadband network serving all of their end users whose planning has since been assumed by the Eastgate Council of Governments.
NEOHRIC has solid relationships with public broadband network providers including the Medina County Port Authority and the Ohio Cities of Dublin, Fairlawn, and Hudson. NEOHRIC occasionally arranges tours of those public network providers for other political subdivision officials interested in pursuing their own broadband networks. Those public network providers are graciously willing to share their information, experiences, financials, state of the industry, best practices, and lessons learned to ensure similar public projects are equally as successful and, in the future, will enable all regional public networks to be interconnected for increased benefits and scaled efficiencies. NEOHRIC also has relationships with public broadband advocacy organizations including among others:
NEOHRIC is also investigating various other projects involving public markets, true equal open access, and increased logistics efficiencies.