Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kenny Craig called the announcement “absolutely wonderful news.”
“It’s not only great news for the city, it’s great news for those individuals who will be successful in getting these jobs, and great news for the small businesses all over the community that will benefit by these 682 individuals shopping locally,” he said.
Nick Dadabo, whose family has owned and operated Chester’s Pizzeria on Dixie Highway for over 60 years, said “good for Hamilton, it’s about time.”
He said that anytime new jobs come to Hamilton, that not only benefits the residents who are getting the jobs, but the small businesses in the city who will receive more customers.
“Hamilton is probably — I think in the state of Ohio or in the Tristate area — one of the top 10 cities that’s up there ready for a whole new renaissance,” Dadabo added. “It’s never going to be a big-box store town anymore, it’s never going to be the way it was when I was a little kid, but it’s getting better and better.”
City Council member Kathleen Klink said that when she heard the announcement yesterday, she felt energized, and proud for the whole Hamilton community.
“(Jobs coming to downtown Hamilton) is part of our strategic plan to move things forward in Hamilton, and this is evidence that it’s happening,” she said. “All these announcements only lead to more activity.”
Klink said that for her, one of the next steps for focus is the Sense of Place/17 Strong neighborhood initiative.
“We’ll continue to work individually with the neighborhoods to have that sense of empowerment and belonging in their community,” she said.
Council member Archie Johnson said he was very grateful to the Colorado-based StarTek for choosing Hamilton.
“I think some good things are happening in Hamilton,” he said, adding that there are still many areas of Hamilton left to rehab.
“In the long run, we’re developing downtown but we still have that long stretch from the (Great Miami) river to Route 4, as well as Main Street,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of areas we need to target, we still need to develop Route 4, which connects us to other cities.”
City Councilman Tim Naab credited Hamilton’s strategic plan with this success, by “incorporating and enabling city departments to work together, along with the private sector, in bringing new and exciting…solutions and work opportunity to our city.”
“Creative, out-of-the-box thinking and implementation of solid business plans has led our team to these successful outcomes with the realization that Hamilton is an inviting destination city to live, work and play,” he added.
Holly Gadd, a lifelong Hamilton resident, said she was excited to hear that Elder-Beerman was slowly being filled again.
“I used to take the city bus with my grandma every weekend to Elder-Beerman, and we would meet mom at First National Bank,” she said.
Her mother, Joan Southard, said the whole family was “really upset” when the department store closed in 2009.
She added that she hoped the new jobs would help boost the downtown area.
“We have such a beautiful downtown, but there’s nothing for the attorneys down there,” she said.
Lindenwald resident Nick Lambright, said that he shared the news on Facebook Monday and had a lot of positive responses.
“I’ve got quite a few friends who are looking for jobs…there are a lot of people in need of jobs, especially closer to home,” he said. “I live here and commute every day to work in Florence, Ky., because there’s not much work in the area.”
He said that he is thinking about applying for one of the call center jobs, to save on his commute every day and be closer to home.
“I’ve lived here all my life, and this is great news for Hamilton,” he said.
Craig said that the chamber looks forward to assisting StarTek in any business-related issue they may have.
“I feel like this is a very big deal in relation to the positive momentum that is continuing to happen in the community, and hope this spurs more positive development,” he said.
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