Karen BrennemanKaren M. Brenneman, CPA, MT[/caption]
CANTON, OHIO (February 15, 2013) – Karen M. Brenneman, CPA, MT, managing partner for Hall, Kistler & Company LLP, has been elected chairman of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce board of directors for 2013. Philip D. Fracassa, senior vice president of planning and development, The Timken Company, has been named senior vice chairman. John A. Murphy, Jr., attorney, Day Ketterer Ltd. has been appointed vice chairman, and Brian Belden, manager of marketing and thin brick sales, The Belden Brick Company, and William C. Shivers, president, greater Akron/Canton region, Huntington Bank, have been reappointed as vice chairmen. D. William Allen, vice president and CFO, Pro Football Hall of Fame, has been reappointed treasurer. Rick L. Haines will serve as immediate past chairman.
Newly elected members of the board are: Katrina Barton, general manager, Westfield Belden Village; Bruce Blaise, president, Kenan Advantage Group; Keith Fuller, senior director, corporate development, Chesapeake Energy Corporation; and Dr. Para Jones, president, Stark State College.
Brenneman has worked with local and regional firms of all sizes over the last 28 years, and brings to Hall, Kistler the best features of each. She has been with Hall, Kistler since 1998, and served as Hall, Kistler's tax partner before assuming the managing partner role in 2011. Her depth of accounting knowledge includes consulting on tax saving strategies. She also covers the areas of acquisitions, reorganizations and succession planning for closely held companies. Although Brenneman specializes in corporate tax and physician organizations, her breadth of knowledge of the accounting industry allows her to serve a wide range of clients.
Brenneman earned both her Master of Taxation and Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from The University of Akron. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and sits on the BKR International America's Region Board. She recently served as chair for the U.S. Tax Committee for BKR International.
Actively involved in the community, Brenneman is on the Stark Development Board and finance committee of the Stark Development Board. She serves as the president of Canton Rotary, treasurer of Meyers Lake YMCA and is a member of the 15th Class of Leadership Stark County.
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Katrina Barton[/caption]
Barton has been the general manager at Westfield Belden Village for over seven years. Her shopping center industry experience spans more than 13 years and began in marketing. She has been involved in the due diligence process for the potential purchase of malls, has helped transition a number of properties purchased by Westfield, and was instrumental in formulating and implementing their gift card program across the country. In addition, Barton and her husband Kevin own and operate the local Edible Arrangements franchise and are in the process of building their second store.
Barton is a graduate of North Canton Hoover High School and received her bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College. She is passionate about her community and has served on a number of boards and committees, including the Jackson Local School Foundation board and Vintage Canton Committee. She is a proud graduate of the 21st Class of Leadership Stark County.
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Bruce Blaise[/caption]
Blaise has served as president of the Kenan Advantage Group (KAG) since September 2011. Previously, he served as executive vice president of the company’s Fuels Delivery Group from 2008 to 2010, and vice president of sales and marketing since joining the company in 2001. KAG is North America’s largest tank truck transporter and logistics provider, delivering fuel, chemicals, merchant gas and food products across the United States and into Canada and Mexico.
Blaise has 28 years of experience in the transportation industry. Prior to joining KAG, he served in various management roles with Miller Transporters from 1983 to 2001. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Mississippi State University, where he currently serves on their Marketing Advisory Board. He is also a member of various industry related associations including serving on the Membership and Education committees of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA).
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Keith Fuller[/caption]
Fuller has served as senior director – corporate development since January 2011. He was employed by GlaxoSmithKline in marketing and management from 1997 to 2011. Fuller is co-chair of the Connect Appalachia Broadband Initiative and sits on the Stark State College Foundation Board. The New Philadelphia, Ohio, native received his degree in communications with a minor in biology from Kent State University in 1996.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the second-largest producer of natural gas, a Top 15 producer of oil and natural gas liquids and the most active driller of new wells in the U.S. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company's operations are focused on discovering and developing unconventional natural gas and oil fields onshore in the U.S.
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Dr. Para M Jones[/caption]
Dr. Jones became Stark State College’s fourth president on February 1, 2012. Prior to returning to Stark State, Dr. Jones was president of Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina. Before going to Spartanburg, Dr. Jones spent 22 years at Stark State, including several years as vice president. She also spent several years in corporate advertising and communications.
Her passion for the community college mission is driven by her belief that students are best served by affordable, quality education that leads to rewarding careers. Dr. Jones holds a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska, an MBA with honors from Ashland University, and a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Mount Union College.
She is chair of the Stark County P-16 Compact and serves on the boards of Stark Development Board, the Stark Education Partnership, and the Stark and Tuscarawas County Workforce Investment Board. She also serves on the Ohio Board of Regents’ Commercialization and Technology Transfer Task Force and serves on the national board of The Manufacturing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers.
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