According to Brook, Ohio’s location has been the key to her success. “In Ohio, my personal and professional goals come together in perfect balance. With the support of this community's caring spirit, we're helping students fulfill their aspirations,” said Brook. "Together, we're making a positive impact on education that will last for generations.”

The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) was created in 1998 as a regional community foundation serving the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, the Foundation works with donors and those who care deeply about the region to support regional improvement through the power of charitable giving.

Watch the video interview with Cara.

Ohio is unique among U.S. states in offering multiple major metropolitan areas all within easy distance of one another, balanced with convenient suburban communities and tranquil rural areas. In Ohio the population is distributed throughout the state, and commutes to work are shorter and less intense than in most major U.S. cities, leaving ample time for away-from-work activities and making work-life balance achievable.

Anchored by Ohio's major cities, the state is comprised of geographic regions with specific industry strengths and resources. Within these regions are many business-friendly, affordable micropolitan areas. Across the state, executives have shared their perspectives on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.

Watch this video to learn more about the Ohio story.

While serving as director of adult learning services at a major state institution, his passion for quality education inspired him to seek a better way for his distance-learning students to obtain their course materials. Finding none, he created his own.

Two companies later, Dr. Mark is credited with creating a niche industry around the fulfillment of content and course materials for distance learning, career and multi-campus colleges.

A native New Yorker, Dr. Mark went to college at Ohio University and found that Appalachia was “just too pretty a place to leave.” And, when it came time to start his companies, the serial entrepreneur found the ideal business startup location in Ohio’s Enterprise Appalachia.

“I am here because of the Ohio Promise,” Dr. Mark shared in a recent interview with me. “My favorite thing about living in Ohio’s Enterprise Appalachian Region is that you can achieve professional success within the context of a fulfilling life.”

Click here to read the rest of my interview with Dr. Mark.

Here's a snapshot of how one northwest Ohio company is leading the way in the agriculture and food processing industry:

The Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT) at EISC, Inc. in Toledo, Ohio provides technical solutions to companies involved in some of Ohio's largest and most economically significant industries: food production, processing and packaging. CIFT's mission is to help members of the agribusiness sector improve their competitive position through the development and adaptation of emerging technologies, industry best practices, and novel business approaches.

hiVelocity spoke with CIFT's Executive Vice President David Beck about new agriculture and food processing technologies taking place right here in Ohio. Click here to read more.

Call this a story about nurturing the goose that laid the golden egg.

At a time when some states are considering job-killing tax hikes to make up for budget deficits, one state is in the final phase of lowering its business taxes to a point that small business owners can collect their first $1 million in receipts virtually free of state taxes.

A number of years ago, Ohio implemented a sweeping package of business tax reforms making it more “business friendly” to businesses of all sizes. Today, it is one of only two states nationally with no general tax on either corporate profits or personal property used in business.

(Source: "Ohio Gets Business Friendly with Tax Cuts," Roger Russell, Senior Editor, Accounting Today, WebCPA.com.)

To read the complete article, click here.