The Canton business community is both curious and excited about the opportunities that will develop through the exploration of the Utica Shale. Here at the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, we have conducted two sellout business development seminars this year through a partnership with the Ohio Oil and Gas Association and Shaledirectories.com. The first event attracted just over 140 people, the second nearly 160.

The daylong seminars have featured presentations by companies like Chesapeake Energy, Superior Well Services and Baker Hughes that explained the oil and gas exploration and production process to the seminar audience. We also have offered business marketing advice based on successes achieved by small businesses in the Marcellus Shale. We have coached local businesses on the human resources challenges that may face them when the competition for talented workers increases because of oil and gas activity.

We have offered business banking advice, an explanation of the insurance requirements that come with master service agreements, and an explanation of the many safety measures practiced regularly in the oil and gas industry.

The Canton Regional Chamber has used these seminars as our primary vehicles for helping our 1,500-plus membership imagine and appreciate what we believe will be the widespread business opportunities coming from the exploration and production in the Utica.  We are doing our part to make sure Ohioans take full advantage of the incredible benefits shale development is bringing to our great state.

We have 1,500 members in the Chamber and a lot of them are very excited about the economic opportunity that might come from oil and gas and their ability to do business with oil and gas and the jobs that are available – David Kaminski, Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce

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