Ohio Success Awards 2023

By the Editors

Presented by Ohio Business Magazine, the fifth annual Ohio Success Awards honors growth companies, nonprofits and governmental organizations across the state of Ohio. The Ohio Success Awards recognizes the accomplishments of companies that have demonstrated growth in revenue and employees, as well as having demonstrated involvement in their community and service in their industry; nonprofits that have made a significant impact upon the communities they serve; and governmental organizations that have created unique value or opportunities based upon their ingenuity, partnership and perseverance.

To celebrate their successes, Ohio Business Magazine plans to host a celebratory event soon. If you’re interested in learning more, subscribe to the Ohio Business newsletter at OhioBusinessMag.com to say up to date on all event news.

Nomination Process

For the 2023 Ohio Success Awards, a nomination form was emailed to businesses throughout the state, inviting them to self-nominate. A form was also posted online so that other businesses could participate. For-profit, nonprofit and government institutions were able to self-nominate. Nominees were asked to provide information on topics such as their revenue starting in 2020, company size starting in 2020, approximate profitability, and revenue and profit projections. The winners were then selected by committee and had to show growth in one or more of these categories. If you are interested in nominating your company next year, subscribe to the Ohio Business Magazine and newsletter (both of which are complimentary), at OhioBusinessMag.com.

Private Companies

Company	Description	City	Chief Executive	Year Established	2022 Revenue	2020 Revenue	2022 Employees	2020 Employees
Aeroseal	Advanced air and duct sealing	Miamisburg	Amit Gupta, CEO	2010	$25-$49 Million	$10-$24 Million	180	88
Air Force One	Commercial HVAC and facilities services company	Dublin	Greg Guy, CEO	1984	$100-$249 Million	$25-$49 Million	221	201
AtNetPlus	Managed service provider	Stow	Jay Mellon, CEO	1998	$5-$9 Million	$1-$4 Million	45	32
Consolidus, LLC	Software and services company	Akron	Jeffrey Scott Jones, Founder & CEO	2006	$10-$24 Million	$5-$9 Million	26	18
Custom Design Benefits	Third party administrator	Cincinnati	Julie D. Mueller, President & CEO	1991	$10-$24 Million	$5-$9 Million	62	66
EASE Logistics	Third-party logistics provider	Dublin	Peter Coratola Jr., President	2014	$250-$499 Million	$100-$249 Million	200	92
Elite Biomedical Solutions LLC	Manufacturing	Cincinnati	Jeff Smith, CEO	2012	$10-$24 Million	$10-$24 Million	52	43
Evan’s Auto Care	Independent European auto repair facility	Cincinnati	Evan Brodof, President	1964	$1-$4 Million	$1-$4 Million	12	8
Fahlgren Mortine	Full-service, integrated communications company	Columbus	Neil Mortine, Chairman & CEO	1962	$25-$49 Million	$10-$24 Million	286	156
Fleet Response	Specialized auto third party administrator	Hudson	Scott Mawaka, CEO	1986	$10-$24 Million	$5-$9 Million	350	250
GBQ Partners LLC	Tax, accounting and consulting	Columbus	Darci Congrove, Managing Director	1953	$25-$49 Million	$25-$49 Million	235	212
Harvest Tax & Accounting	Accounting and bookkeeping for small and mid-sized businesses	Mason	Eric Bonney, Managing Shareholder	2020	Less than $1 Million	Less than $1 Million	6	4
Hearth Products Controls Co.	Outdoor and indoor fire product manufacturer	Miamisburg	Sean Steimle, CEO	1975	$10-$24 Million	$10-$24 Million	55	45
Legend Web Works	Website development and digital marketing	Kings Mills	Jesse Kankowski, President & COO	2002	$1-$4 Million	Less than $1 Million	17	10
M Genio	Full service IoT, Mobile and Salesforce solutions implementation agency	Cleveland	Satish Ramade, President & CEO	2012	$1-$4 Million	$1-$4 Million	13	9
ODW LTS	Logistics and transportation	Hamilton	John Guggenbiller, President	2009	$100-$249 Million	$100-$249 Million	121	88
Oswald Companies	Insurance brokerage	Cleveland	Robert Klonk, CEO	1893	$100-$249 Million	$100-$249 Million	422	370
PEOPLEfirst Talent & Retention Consulting	Culture and HR consulting services	Loveland	Alex Bowden, CEO	2015	Less than $1 Million	Less than $1 Million	6	0
QualityIP	Managed IT services	Kent	Ryan Markham, CEO	2004	$5-$9 Million	$5-$9 Million	65	50
Realistar Realtors	Real estate brokerage	Beavercreek	Ronnie Woodrow, Broker Owner	2019	$750-$999 Million	$250-$499 Million	52	30
Sapphire Creek Winery & Gardens	Restaurant and event center	Chagrin Falls	Kathleen Birkel Dangelo, President & Owner	2018	$1-$4 Million	$1-$4 Million	45	40
Schmidt Auto Care	Auto care	Springboro	Erich Schmidt, Owner	2009	$1-$4 Million	Less than $1 Million	8	8
Small Nation	Real estate developer	Bellefontaine	Jason Duff, Founder & CEO	2011	$1-$4 Million	$1-$4 Million	16	12
Spider Logistics	Logistics team and extensive carrier network	West Chester	Duy Vu, Founder	2019	$1-$4 Million	Less than $1 Million	7	2
Strategic HR Business Advisors	Outsourced HR management firm	Cincinnati	Robin Throckmorton, Founder & Shareholder-in-Charge	1995	$5-$9 Million	$1-$4 Million	40	20
Superior Dental Care	Group dental benefits	Centerville	Andrea Hogben, Lead, Medical Mutual’s Specialty Products	1986	$100-$249 Million	$100-$249 Million	52	53
T&M Associates	National consulting, engineering, environmental, technical services and construction management company	Columbus	Gary Dahms, President & CEO	1966	$10-$24 Million	$10-$24 Million	56	42
The Brown Company Of Findlay	Motor vehicle product manufacturing	Findlay	Matt Brown, President	2007	$5-$9 Million	$1-$4 Million	10	8
The Wembley Club	Fitness, tennis and pickleball club	Chagrin Falls	David Barr, Owner	1989	$1-$4 Million	$1-$4 Million	19	15
THOMARIOS Construction	Construction	Akron	Paul Thomarios, President	1948	$100-$249 Million	$25-$49 Million	135	53
Valley Automotive Group	Auto truck dealer/automotive group	Cleveland	Brian O’Donnell Sr., President & CEO	1964	$1-$4.9 Billion	$500-$749 Million	750+	350+
Zeal40	Marketing and design agency	Cincinnati	Stacy Koenig and Nicole Fariello, co-founders	2015	Less than $1 Million	Less than $1 Million	6	4

Public Companies

Company	Description	City	Chief Executive	Year Established	2022 Revenue	2020 Revenue	2022 Employees	2020 Employees
Harrison’s Pro Tree Service	Tree pruning, removal and stump grinding	Franklin	Jeffrey Harrison, Owner	2008	$1-$4 Million	$1-$4 Million	12	8
State and Federal Communications, Inc	Political compliance consulting firm and online guidebook service	Akron	Elizabeth Z Bartz, President & CEO	1993	$5-$9 Million	$5-$9 Million	43	39

Nonprofits/Government

Being successful means more than increasing revenue and employees—it also can mean making an impact. These nonprofits and governmental institutions demonstrated exceptional impact upon the communities they serve.

Company	Description	City	Chief Executive	Year Established	2022 Revenue	2020 Revenue	2022 Employees	2020 Employees
A Second Home For You	Provides transitional housing to emancipated youth while administering an array of support services	Cleveland	Gregory E. Jones, Founder	2015	Less than $1 Million	Less than $1 Million	4	3
because I said I would	Provides character development programs and volunteer projects.	Rocky River	Alex Sheen, Founder	2012	$1-$4 Million	$1-$4 Million	25	15
Centerville-Washington Park District	Township park district	Centerville	Kristen Marks, Executive Director	1959	$5-$9 Million	$5-$9 Million	26	24
Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired	Helps people adapt to severe vision loss and provides employment for people who are blind or visually impaired	Cincinnati	Teri Shirk, President & CEO	1911	$10-$24 Million	$10-$24 Million	183	176
Dayton Christian School	Private K-12 school	Dayton	Dr. John Gredy, Head of School	1963	$5-$9 Million	$5-$9 Million	171	144
Kettering College	Small, faith-based health care college	Kettering	Nate Brandstater	1967	$5-$9 Million	$1-$4 Million	150	150
Miami Valley Meals	Distributes through a network of nonprofit partner organizations that feed the hungry	Dayton	Amanda DeLotelle, Executive Director	2015	$1-$4 Million	Less than $1 Million	12	8
Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries	Employment and training services	Cincinnati	Mark Hiemstra, President & CEO	1916	$25-$49 Million	$25-$49 Million	1,206	1,206
Rosemary’s Babies Company	Teen parent support organization	Cincinnati	Rosemary Oglesby-Henry, Founder & CEO	2013	Less than $1 Million	Less than $1 Million	3	1
Saint Ursula Academy	College preparatory school for girls in grades 9-12	Cincinnati	Lelia Keefe Kramer, President	1910	$1-$4 Million	$1-$4 Million	99	99
The Cure Starts Now	International charity that raises funds for cancer research	Cincinnati	Keith Desserich, Chairman	1997	$5-$9 Million	$1-$4 Million	12	12
Voices of Change 2018	Nonprofit that develops and executes education programs to reduce the risk of abuse for children with disabilities	Hinckley	Nicole Moehring, Founder	2018	Less than $1 Million	Less than $1 Million	1	1
West Chester Township	Local government	West Chester	Larry D. Burks, Township Administrator	1823	$25-$49 Million	$25-$49 Million	270	270

Success in 2022 was rooted in the passion of Gregory E. Jones, executive director, to help those facing homelessness. One of his quotes, “ Let something make you mad enough to do some good” is foundational to his drive. The organization strived for post-pandemic normalcy in 2022 with the young adults, while continuing to do fundraisers to assist them with their rent, groceries, college needs, transportation and more. Like family, the staff, board members, and supporters are full of encouragement and time to care.

“Aeroseal’s success in 2022 was rooted in our ability to build and cultivate a world-class culture. This has been our most important investment as we work toward our mission to advance energy efficiency for the future of the built environment. From ensuring open communication through CEO office hours, retreats focused on promoting meaningful relationships and executives sitting in workspaces and war rooms with teams, we have been able to retain the feel of a start-up culture, rewarding courageous thinking and action. This has enabled our teams to do their life’s best work in our race against time to fight climate change.” – Amit Gupta, CEO

“Oswald Companies saw tremendous growth throughout Ohio last year due to strategic moves designed to perpetuate expansion. We enhanced our leadership team, engaged new partners and invested in talent. We have made great progress in diversity, equity and inclusion, which benefits our internal culture. Our unwavering commitment to employee engagement, inclusion and delivery of the Oswald client experience drives that unique culture that we are all so proud and grateful to be part of.” – Jessica Jung, President

“SDC was created in 1986 to help employers offer their employees affordable access to superior dental care, and this mission continues to guide our success today. Our expertly designed dental plans with a large national network allow companies across Ohio to provide valuable benefits to their employees in any economic climate. Our superior staff, all located right here in Ohio, prioritize quick, friendly and dependable service to keep the employers, members, dentists and brokers we serve smiling.” – Bettina Imes, Chief Dental Services Officer

“T&M Associates bolstered our expansion of practice lines and service offerings in 2022, resulting in revenue growth of 11%. In 2012, T&M’s Columbus office opened with five people and has since grown to 65. With a 98% retention rate and annually increasing growth, T&M’s mission to improve quality of life for employees, clients and communities is strengthened. T&M’s future is bright as we perform engineering and environmental projects to improve infrastructure, water quality and brownfields within our partner communities.” – Robert Pfendler, SVP, Regional Operations Manager