Months after an unexpected loss in the community, area leaders used Thursday not as a time to mourn a lost life, but to honor one full of accomplishments.
The Greater Akron Chamber awarded former Summit County Executive Russ Pry the H. Peter Burg award posthumously at its 110th annual meeting Thursday night at the John S. Knight Center.
The Chamber presents the award every year to a leader who promotes economic development in the Greater Akron region.
Previous FirstEnergy Corp. CEO and President Anthony J. Alexander, last year’s recipient, presented Pry’s award Thursday. In lieu of a physical award, the Chamber’s Executive Committee will donate money to the Russell M. Pry Endowed Memorial Scholarship fund.
Alexander rattled off a list of qualities Pry had that he and others in the community admired: integrity, wisdom, generosity.
“I’d simply add that Russ seemed to personify the brand of leadership that’s unique to Northeast Ohio,” Alexander said. “One that’s built on hard-earned relationships, and that recognizes the value of giving back to the community we call home. No one was more dedicated to serving others than Russ Pry.”
Pry died in July after a series of health complications related to colon cancer when he was 58 — just a year older than Burg was when he died.
In Pry’s nine years as county executive, he was integral in developing deals to keep Bridgestone-Firestone in Akron and persuade Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. to expand its headquarters here.
Dan Colantone, the president and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber, said Pry was always interested in fostering a collaborative environment between business, education and government entities.
Colantone said the two met periodically to talk about area improvement strategies — whether it was Pry’s education initiatives, the Chamber’s work in the community and anything in between.
“Those meetings were very, very instrumental and showed Russ’ side of collaborating and meeting and leading dialogue with all the stakeholders in the community,” Colantone said.
Pry also launched initiatives to combat issues like infant mortality and mental health, created the annual Summit for Kids Community Expo and built a veterans center.
“That was one thing he was really proud of over his time,” Pry’s friend Phil Montgomery said about the veterans center.
Keepsake coin
To honor Pry’s work with veterans, Montgomery decided to make the meeting’s keepsake a challenge coin with Pry’s name on it.
Inspired by a military tradition, the coins serve as a reminder of Pry and the way he lived.
“It’s a challenge to the community to give back like Russ did,” said Becky Guzzy, the senior vice president of the Greater Akron Chamber.
The award was named after H. Peter Burg, the past chairman of Akron’s FirstEnergy Corp. The Red Cross of Summit, Portage and Medina Counties also presents an award by the same name each year.
Also at the meeting, Donzell Taylor, the board chair and CEO of Welty Building Co., gave updates to the 900 in the audience on the three priorities he set for the Chamber last year: figuring out and establishing what makes the region unique, creating a livable downtown and honing better cooperation between the city, the county and the Chamber.
He cited a few projects underway in Akron, like the East End office project, where SummaCare will move its headquarters this summer, and plans to renovate the vacant Akron City Center Hotel downtown.
“I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Taylor said. “In some ways, we are having to reinvent ourselves as the world changes and we’re working that out as we go.”
As attendees ate dinner after Taylor’s announcement and Alexander’s presentation, a tribute video to Pry rolled on two projector screens in the front of the room. They showed pictures of Pry, along with short videos of people he knew, from government officials to high school students.
“I miss working with my friend,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in the video.
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom .