M. Conley Entrepreneur of the Year Award Nominees

Jerry and Marty Ortman fit together like two well worn slippers. Jerry is the former aerospace project manager who can solve any technical problem. Younger brother, Marty, loves people and is welcome anywhere he goes….

When Todd Werstler’s father was in his 50s, health problems forced him to sell his Ace Hardware store and take a straight commission job selling cultured marble. During five years as the company’s only salesman,…

It’s a story as old as time, with a twist. Boy meets girl in a downtown bar. He’s an artist, she’s a business student. They both love handmade things and start a business where she…

Sitting in the Stark County Courthouse in the early 1960s Roger DeVille had an epiphany. He noticed that although 3,000 couples a year were marrying in Stark County, an equal number were divorcing. 3,000 suddenly…

In 1930, somewhere around 4th St. and Mahoning Ave. in Canton, the 13-year old son of Lebanese immigrants bought a beat up old bicycle for 5¢. After fixing and shining it up, he sold it…

As children, Jim Stout and his siblings were given pigs by their father. The others quickly sold theirs for a profit at the Wayne County Fair. Jim turned his pig into a breeding business that…

In their second year as artificial grass dealers, Brian and Dale Karmie thought they’d already made every beginner’s mistake possible. Business was starting to boom, their best friend had put his own career on hold…

Thousands of area brides have enjoyed their wedding days because Bob Maloney hated selling cars. He hated it so much he sold his house to buy a rental franchise although he didn’t know a Bobcat…

When Barb Abbott talks people listen … and eat. As the founder, visionary and creative light behind Canton Food Tours, Barb has turned the dinner hour into story time for thousands of Canton visitors and…

When young Joe Waggoner and his two sisters visited their grandmother, Iola London, she sat the youngsters in front of the fireplace with whiskey and cigarettes to pass the time while she played cards with…

Chris Paxos can barely remember a day he wasn’t working. When other kids were hanging with friends after school, Chris was working in the tiny Massillon restaurant owned by his Greek immigrant father. At 16…

Every day the Schroer family and their employees touch the lives of over 7,500 people when they are most vulnerable. The family’s love affair with caring for the elderly began when Jerry Schroer Sr., a…