The Ohio State University Endeavor Center welcomed all business partners, tenant graduates, former partners, Operational Council members and other key partners to the 5th anniversary celebration of the Endeavor Center facility on September 16th.
Jerry Driggs, Endeavor Center Manager, explained the tremendous growth and success the Endeavor Center has experienced in the 5 years it has been operational.
"The Endeavor Center has become recognized as a center of innovation, technology and excellence," Driggs said. "We are so grateful for the many partners who have helped build the center into the success it has become."
The business partners housed in the facility have created over 300 new high-skill, high-wage jobs for people in this community, resulting in a 25 million dollar positive economic impact. Nine Endeavor Center graduate tenants have taken the next step, and have moved into, or built, larger facilities outside the center.
Butch Stall, manager of Innovative Solutions, a business that has been housed in the Endeavor Center since its opening in 2005, said, "The Endeavor Center provides us a place to pool our resources. The visibility and convenience is unmatched. We wouldn't be where we are today without the Endeavor Center."
Another business that has seen tremendous growth during their time at the Endeavor Center is River's Edge Orthodontics, the office of Dr. Brad Pendell, a specialist in orthodontics. Dr. Pendell's office first opened in March 2006 at the OSU Endeavor Center in Piketon after relocating from a small office in Peebles. The staff included 5 part-time employees, and the office had four chairs and was open 2-3 days a week. In March 2010, the office employed 7 full-time and 2 part-time employees and is open 5 days a week. Pendell said the practice has been blessed with tremendous growth over the last four years at the Endeavor Center.
"The staff, facility and business support of the Endeavor Center were critical to the rapid success of the practice, and I am deeply indebted to those personnel and resources," said Dr. Pendell.
In order to keep up with the phenomenal growth of the practice, Dr. Pendell has built a new, larger, 7-chair orthodontic office, relocating the entire practice to Chillicothe, Ohio.
The Endeavor Center houses an average of 18-20 business offices at any given time. In addition, over 15,000 visitors have attended one of the more than 1,000 business seminars, workshops and instructional sessions held in the classrooms during the first 5 years of operation. The Endeavor Center continues to be booked daily for workshops and special events, and all of the incubator space is in use.
