IF YOU GO
WHAT: The fifth annual Everest Awards, presented by the West Chester-Liberty Chamber Alliance
WHERE: Cincinnati Marriott North, 6189 Muhlhauser Road, West Chester Twp.
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursday. Starts with social hour, followed by dinner and keynote speaker.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and future NFL Hall of Famer Ken Anderson
EMCEE: Ken Broo, Emmy Award-winning sports anchor from WCPO 9 on Your Side
COST: Table of eight, $1,000; individual tickets, $125; corporate tables, $1,500; sponsorships are also available
MORE INFO: Call 513-777-3600 or visit www.TheChamberAlliance.com
EVEREST AWARD WINNERS SHARE ADVICE
Regarding your path to leadership, what’s the most important piece of advice from your past that helped get you where you are today?
Thomas Humes Jr., CEO of Traditions Building & Development Group Inc.: "Respect others. Treat them all with a smile. Never forget where you came from. Always consider the bigger picture and how you can help others. Those people and institutions that have leadership and vision and can execute with a smile and a win-win business proposition as their model will drive the growth of this area to new and exciting heights."
Jim Pancoast, CEO of Premier Health: "I learned early on that it is important to seek out advice from good and knowledgeable people and to listen carefully to what they say. Assembling a great team is a key ingredient in making better decisions. Becoming an expert in your own business at the local, state and national level is crucial and understanding how that fits into the community at large is essential for success."
Yaromir Steiner, CEO of Steiner & Associates: "Identify the unique strengths and the unique qualities every person has. Every person is uniquely qualified to do certain things … the kind of things that, when you do them, you don't notice time go by. Then you have to identify how you can put that talent to the service of the world, or your community or your family."
Leaders being honored for helping spur business growth along Interstate 75 between Cincinnati and Dayton say more development is on the way.
Thomas Humes Jr., CEO of Traditions Building & Development Group Inc.; Jim Pancoast, CEO of Premier Health; and Yaromir Steiner, CEO of Steiner + Associates, are the trio to be honored Thursday by the West Chester-Liberty Chamber Alliance during its fifth annual Everest Awards.
The event honors leaders that have caused, through their actions, a significant positive impact on business, the community and quality of life along the I-75 corridor, according to the chamber.
Humes, Pancoast and Steiner said it’s only a matter of time before the Cincinnati and Dayton metro areas are officially merged into one metropolitan area.
“I believe that the connections between the cities will grow and thrive over the next years,” said Pancoast. “Many relationships are being built and enhanced and the ties between communities, businesses and government continues to expand. Many of our employees live in one part of the geography and work in another, bringing opportunities to learn about the many advantages offered in the entire region.”
Steiner, whose company developed the $350 million mixed-use Liberty Center, said the possibility of Cincinnati and Dayton merging into one metropolitan area “will depend on what the community is willing to do with it.”
“The Midwest is a dynamic environment,” Steiner said. “This corridor is a very dynamic corridor with some very dynamic cities. Places like … Mason, Lebanon, Hamilton, Middletown and so forth. These are communities with history behind them … and this corridor could become a very important economic engine for the region.”
Humes said the concept is something that has been discussed for 40 years and is “a great example of how good things take time.”
“I absolutely believe that this will occur,” he said. “As it occurs, the linkages between the cities will grow stronger on an exponential basis. I believe that in just five years you will see this new metroplex center take birth as the Liberty Way interchange becomes more fully developed with Liberty Center, Children’s Hospital, Good Sam and further expansion by UC Health. The plans are already in place to enhance the infrastructure to provide for this new macro urban center.”
Though each of the men are being honored for their accomplishments over decades of work, each of them sought to credit other factors or ideals for their accomplishments.
“I’m very honored to be selected for this prestigious award,” said Humes. “Our greatest accomplishment is creating a talented and highly professional team of people who are dedicated to creating the great new communities to live in for the future within the Greater Cincinnati area.”
Humes said he’s been very fortunate to have been in business for a long time and developed strong relationships with many community partners and municipalities.
“Together with them, our company has been able to create some unique, exciting spaces and places to live and work in our region,” he said. “Cincinnati is at a tipping point that will undoubtedly lead to some exciting growth in the years ahead and we look forward to helping bring that to life.”
Pancoast said his biggest accomplishment has been being part of the Premier Health team and actualizing a vision to build an integrated healthcare delivery system along the I-75 corridor.
“As the largest health system in Southwest Ohio, with sites of service from Mason to Piqua and many places in between, we have been able to positively impact the health of thousands of people, have recruited talented physicians and other health care professionals to our region, and provided employment opportunities throughout the region,” Pancoast said.
Instead of focusing on one accomplishment, Steiner referred instead to his general attitude and “a life that was consistently driven by values” as his biggest assets.
“The same values motivated me in my business and the same values drive my company and the same values drive the projects that we create,” he said. “It’s basically the notion of using our talents to make the world a better place, to serve our communities.”
“We try to do projects that, in a very concrete way, make a difference in the communities they serve. That’s something that … drives how I operate,” Steiner said.
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