Business View Magazine | November 2020

262 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020 N orth Canton is a city brimming with hope and enthusiasm. Situated 20 miles south of Akron in Stark County, the city of more than 17,000 is poised to become the small business capital of northeast Ohio. Offering a safe, vibrant community with a diverse economic base, North Canton has managed to maintain a sense of stability and even growth, despite the uncertainty of the COVID era. USA Today ranked North Canton 42nd overall in their list of “Best Cities to Live in America.” The city has rallied behind its community, its public institutions, and committed itself to a shrewd plan of action, first undertaken in 2019, when Mayor Stephan Wilder took the helm. With a focus on a diverse economy, inclusivity, and sustainability, North Canton positioned itself to weather oncoming downturns or unforeseen crises. What may have seemed like good sense in 2019, now appears particularly prescient in the Fall of 2020. As far as the North Canton administration is concerned, there’s a simple truth behind their foresight and planning: “Once bitten, twice shy.” Historically, North Canton was home to the Hoover Company. Founded in 1919, just after World War I, the city underwent rapid growth through the late 1960s and into the early 1970s with Hoover as its principal employer. However, when the Hoover Company shut its doors in 2007, the fallout was immediate. “That had a significant, immediate impact on the city’s finances,” says North Canton Director of Administration & Economic Development, Patrick De Orio. The loss of the Hoover Company in North Canton laid the AT A GLANCE NORTH CANTON, OHIO WHAT: A city of more than 17,000 WHERE: In Stark County, south of Akron WEBSITE: www.northcantonohio.gov A City of choice n,