Jul 16, 2025
Brittany Smith (center) of the Columbiana County Port Authority talks about the establishment of six manufacturing scholarships created in 2025 thanks to a partnership with the CCCTC, port authority, MAGNET and the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition. Alex Hertzer (left), Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition executive director, and Haedan Panezott, port authority programs coordinator, are also pictured. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

LISBON — Manufacturing jobs account for 9.7% of the U.S. workforce and just over 10% of Ohio’s workforce. In Columbiana County, those numbers double with 20% of countywide jobs in the manufacturing sector. Those numbers prove what the County Port Authority already knows — fabrication and production is the bedrock to the local economy.
To highlight that fact and encourage county students to plant roots locally and follow a career path into that sector, the port authority, Columbiana County Career and Technical Center (CCCTC), the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition and MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy Growth Network) joined forces to establish six scholarships for senior students enrolled in CCCTC welding and machinery programs. The scholarships are meant to not only reward the programs’ top students but also underscore both the demand for and the high-earning potential of positions in the field.
“If you look at the high school level there is such a push for college, but there’s different alternatives out there and we really want to highlight that,” said Haedan Panezott, projects coordinator for the port authority. “Almost every single manufacturer that we go to jobs are open, jobs are available and they are in these career paths that we wanted to honor and reward. We view this as a way to bring more traction to these careers and show that there is opportunity right here at home. You don’t have to move away and you don’t have to take on lifetime debt to do so.”
CCCTC Superintendent Jeremy Corbisello explained the scholarship eligibility was based on a criteria formulated by instructors Michael Hughes (Precision Machining and Manufacturing) and Michael Boyle (Welding). Boyle and Hughes then chose the recipients. The cash scholarships were awarded for innovation, improvement and the ability to step directly into the local workforce. Logan Kirkbride (Most Improved Welding), Spencer Swicka (Most Improved Machining), Goardon Sontag (Most Innovative Welding) and Athan Mays (Most Innovative Machining) each received $500. Alex Rawson (Most Employable Welding) and Preston Smith (Most Employable Machining) were each awarded $1,000.
Panezott said that MAGNET, a manufacturing consulting firm and an advocate for Ohio’s manufacturing sector for 40 years, approached the port authority wanting to “have more investment in Columbiana County.”
From left, Alex Hertzer ( Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition executive director), Brittany Smith (Columbiana County Port Authority assistant director), CCCTC Superintendent Jeremy Corbisello and Haedan Panezott (Columbiana County Port Authority programs coordinator) stand below the plaques honoring the 2025 recipients of the newly created manufacturing scholarships. The scholarships are thanks to a partnership with the CCCTC, Columbiana County Port Authority, MAGNET and the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
“We thought what better way than to partner the career center, the port authority and MAGNET together,” he said. “We pitched the idea of creating scholarships around emerging fields that centered in manufacturing that ended up being welding and machine.”
The port authority matched MAGNET’s contribution, Corbisello brought the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition on board and the scholarships were created. All involved now hope the initial idea will evolve into six scholarships awarded annually.
Aside from the monetary prize — which is unique in that a check is awarded directly to the recipients that can be used for additional training, tools, protective equipment or even gas and lunch as they move into the workforce — each recipient also had their achievement commemorated with a gear-shaped plaque designed by Halls of Fame bearing their name that hangs in the CCCTC hallway. The plaque is meant to both celebrate the winners and serve as motivation for other students.
“The career and tech center is kind of this core in the community to gain those in-demand [manufacturing] skills, but that transition from high school directly into the workforce, there’s a lot of attrition and there’s kind of a lot that kind of goes on there a lot that goes in there,” said Alex Hertzer, executive director of the MVMC. “Seeing an opportunity for students to continue learning at the center and really build into those careers, employees here in Columbiana County have hired a number of the students. This gives them additional resources to either upscale themselves or support themselves. It’s a unique opportunity for in-demand career pathways.”
Corbisello agreed.
Plaques with the winners of the CCCTC’s manufacturing scholarship recipients hang in the hallway of the center. The six scholarships were established and awarded thanks to a partnership with the CCCTC, Columbiana County Port Authority, MAGNET and the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)
“It really takes a village to provide the support that these students need to be successful,” he said.
It also takes those students — the next-generation of workers — to sustain the manufacturing sector in the county. Businesses recognize that and as Corbisello said have “gone upstream to solve the problem” by focusing on the talent pool at the career center. The port authority is also cognizant that today’s manufacturers depend on tomorrow’s workers.
“We handle business retention and expansion,” port authority Assistant Director Brittany Smith said. “We handle workforce development. We handle site inventories and something we continue to see regularly as we go out and meet with our businesses is the need for workforce. Something that we recognize is, particularly with our [graduating] classes, is that everyone is going from high school to a four-year college, leaving Columbiana County and never coming back. Something we really have tried to focus on is how do we maintain youth here in Columbiana County, how do we celebrate the students we currently have in Columbiana County and how do we find the workers for those businesses we are meeting with.”
The answer lies with manufacturing, all stakeholders insist.
“There’s sometimes a stigma attached to manufacturing jobs but manufacturing is the backbone of the county,” Smith said. “We want to be able to celebrate those workers. We want to be able to celebrate that workforce and we want to bring attention to those high-paying, good jobs that can be local and support your families. That’s something that we are really trying to emphasize.”
According to the Ohio Manufacturers Association, the average annual earnings of Ohio workers on manufacturing payrolls in 2022 were $70,000 with the average hourly earnings of all Ohio manufacturing employees $31.38 as of November 2023.
Ohio manufacturers produce billions of dollars in products that are exported all over the world — including those made right here in Columbiana County by what Data USA reports are 8,387 manufacturing workers.
“Manufacturing is very crucial to what we do here in Columbiana County,” Panezott reiterated. “We might not have the large Fortune 500 manufacturers here but we really specialize in small to midsize manufacturers.”
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