Chaz is a partner in the Vorys Cleveland office and a member of the labor and employment group. He has significant experience advising in-house legal counsel and HR leaders on a wide range of labor and employment matters, including: the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); collective bargaining, labor relations issues and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); drafting and implementing employee handbooks; providing management and employee trainings; and assisting with HR related issues associated with both mergers and acquisitions.
Career Highlights:
Working as assistant general counsel at a Fortune 500 company and advising business and HR leadership regarding all aspects of labor and employment law impacting over 25,000 employees
Serving as the vice president of HR at a large financial services company
Representing domestic and international clients in the education, transportation, healthcare, power distribution, engineering, manufacturing, banking, retail, staffing, and construction industries on labor and employment matters
Leading investigations of, and responses to, NLRB unfair labor practice charges and NLRB hearings, including coordination of investigations, interviews, affidavits, and preparation of hearing briefs
Managing employment litigation for a Fortune 500 company throughout the U.S. and overseeing the work of outside counsel
Prior to joining Vorys, Chaz worked as an assistant general counsel at Parker-Hannifin Corporation. He also served as the VP of HR at a large financial services company. This experience in-house has made Chaz more pragmatic, budget sensitive and creative when addressing labor and employment related matters for clients.
Chaz is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) and the OSBA’s Labor and Employment Section.
Chaz received his J.D. summa cum laude from Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and served as a senior editor for the Cleveland State Law Review. He also served as a research editor for the Cleveland State Journal of Law and Health. He received his B.S. and A.A.S cum laude from the University of Akron.
The Akron Rotary Foundation, a 501 C3 is partnering with The Well Community Corp, also a 501C3 to provide landscaping enhancements to 5 homes located in the Middlebury area of Akron. This project is designed to rehabilitate the housing in a depressed area of the community that dates back to the founding of Akron.
The Rotary Club of Akron's commitment is to provide materials and volunteers to enhance the appearance of the home by trimming and cleaning up existing landscaping as well as planting of annual and perennial flowers, and mulching of flowerbeds to brighten the curb appeal and encourage other property owners to do likewise.
We are in need of three-four people for each of the five houses so 20 volunteers to trim shrubs, plant flowers and rake out beds.
When: 9am - Noon on Saturday, June 12th
What we ask that please you bring: Shovels, gardening tools, rakes, trimmers, work gloves and smiles!
How to volunteer: Contact Steve Buie at 330-701-2970 or via email at sbuie@learningrx.net
Location of project: 51-89 Eber Avenue. Steve will have a map link to send to those who volunteer.
Once again the annual Rotary Night at the Indians can be held without restrictions. While we missed last 2020, we are glad to be back now and raising money for End Polio Now.
On July 22, 2021, the Cleveland Baseball team will play the Tampa Bay Rays. And Rotary will be there too—in the Terrace Club, walk on the field with “End Polio Now “ T shirts, having the First pitch raffle and other exclusive raffle auctions. Now we just need YOU!!!
Please see the attached flyer and get your reservations in as soon as possible.
The Rotary Club of Akron had the pleasure of listening to a presentation on the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company, the driving force behind the development of the Football Hall of Fame project at our Tuesday, June 1st weekly meeting. Our speaker was Anne Graffice, Executive Vice-President of Public Affairs. Anne joined Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: HOFV, HOFVW) in December 2019. In this role, Ms. Graffice oversees community, investor, media and government relations, and manages all corporate social responsibility initiatives for the Company.
In July 2020, Ms. Graffice was a key component of the transaction that made Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company public through a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company.
Previously, Ms. Graffice successfully served in a similar role at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which she joined in May 2016 as Vice President of Development & Strategic Adventures. She served as the Hall’s primary corporate and community relations contact, and oversaw diversity programs and policies; controlled development and engagement for the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls; and developed programming for the Center for Excellence.
What is the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company?
The Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company is a multi-dimensional Sports and Entertainment Company. They are comprised of three divisions. The first is their Themed, Experiential Assets which includes themed attractions, hospitality, and live entertainment. The second area is their Media company which is comprised of original content, High Profile Partnerships and Sponsorships. The third company, which has grown more quickly than anticipated because of COVID-19 is their Gaming company which is comprised of Fantasy Sports, e-Gaming and Sports Betting.
The concept behind these growth areas is to make the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company a Destination Asset for Greater Northeast Ohio and beyond.
The Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company has divided up the development of the Destination asset into three phases:
Phase I which is completed and created about $250 million in assets is comprised of
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Tom Benson HOF Stadium
National Youth Football and Sports Complex
Phase II (Double Tree by Hilton hotel opened in downtown Canton in Nov, 2020) (A $30 million dollar renovation)
Approximately 120 acres developed to create the following:
Hall of Fame Indoor Waterpark
The Eleven, a Hilton Tapestry Hotel
Constellation Center for Excellence (75,00 sq. ft multi-use office building, center and hub for research and development for sports. Will also have a huge scoreboard in the front of the building.
Center for Performance – an indoor fieldhouse, home for the NFL Alumni Association and their academy. It could be used for auto shows, indoor garden shows, indoor football games, indoor training facilities, etc.
Retail Promenade – There will be two of these with 10-12 different storefront businesses.
Play-action Plaza – an outdoor interactive green space.
Phase III (Up to $300 million in new assets across 600 acres of available land)
Includes potential for additional attractions, dining, lodging and accommodations housing options, etc.
What is the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Center Approach for Success?
An opportunity to invest in the most powerful sport in America
Leveraging powerful brands across an integrated platform
Delivering unique experiences for loyal consumers
Maximizing media content and sponsorships
Significant long-term growth potential for their shareholders
Exceptional leadership with proven track record
What has been happening and can happen at the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Center pre COVID and post COVID?
More than 70 events were held in 2019. This included stadium, youth sports and private events.
The Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium can hold live events, concerts and performances, weddings, corporate retreats, and indoor/outdoor parties.
The National Youth Football and Sports Complex and hold youth sporting events and tournaments, sports academies and athletic clinics.
The Center for Performance can house indoor sporting events, NFL Alumni Academy sports/events and convention space for events.
The Constellation Center for Excellence can provide meeting space and speaking engagements.
The Premium Hotels (Double Tree and the Eleven Hilton Tapestry hotels) can provide meeting space for meetings, conventions and banquets, weddings, corporate retreats, and indoor/outdoor parties.
The indoor waterpark can be rented for events and private parties
The Play- Action Plaza provides green space for recreation, events, and informal gatherings.
To learn more about the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Center growth plans, etc. I encourage readers to view the recording: click here or copy and paste this link https://youtu.be/VAc4_DdzK0w.
Having heard Ms. Graffice’s presentation, I am sure you will be eager to follow the development of this destination spot and frequent the events that will be occurring now and in the future. An asset that Northeast Ohio should be very proud of.
Plan to participate in Happy Dollars during the Tuesday meetings?
We want to bring even more joy to our meetings and include a photo associated with what you are happy about!!
Simply email it to Cheryl Warren (click here to email her) and put HAPPY DOLLAR PHOTO in the subject line. Photos must be received by 5pm on the Monday prior to the meeting. Those sending photos will be called on first during the meeting to share your happiness as we show the photo!
Even if you don't have a photo, plan to share your joy during our meetings - you will all have a chance to do so as usual after the photos run!!
If you also wish for the information/photo to be included in our newsletter that will go out after our meeting, please indicate this in your email and provide me with a brief description of the reason you are submitting it (such as "So happy that my son Joe has received his Master's Degree from The University of Akron in the field of ABC!). This text will only be used for the newsletter - you will share it at the meeting!!
We are happy to share that you as supporters can now use the Amazon Shopping app on your mobile phone to sign up for AmazonSmile and select "Rotary Camp for Children With Special Needs Inc" as their favorite charity. This is a great opportunity to engage with your supporters to help increase your AmazonSmile donations.
Feel free to send these sample messages out to remind your family/friends and co-workers who may also wish to support the Camp via Amazon Smiles:
Sample Message:
Want to help make a difference while you shop in the Amazon app, at no extra cost to you? Simply follow the instructions below to select "Rotary Camp for Children With Special Needs Inc" as your charity and activate AmazonSmile in the app. They'll donate a portion of your eligible mobile app purchases to us.
How it works: 1. Open the Amazon app on your phone 2. Select the main menu (=) & tap on "AmazonSmile" within Programs & Features 3. Select "Rotary Camp for Children With Special Needs Inc" as your charity 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate AmazonSmile in the mobile app
