By PAUL LOCHER

Staff Writer

ORRVILLE After more than two years in the planning stages, the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce has taken the wraps off an initiative to rebrand the city and make it a "community of choice."

Residents learned of the effort as the result of a six-question survey that has been sent to solicit opinions about the city's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, characteristics and demographics. The survey, according to Chamber President Jenni Reusser, is designed to give guidance to the advertising firm that will develop the rebranding of the city and come up with a new logo.

Reusser said consideration of the project got its start in the spring of 2008 when Paulette Popovich, assistant dean of instruction, invited Reusser to speak to one of her classes at the University of Akron Wayne College. Reusser said the class was studying an essay by Marshall Goldsmith concerning "Communities of Choice."

Goldsmith's premise was because of global communications, people have so many more choices than in the past. Such communication, he asserted, has allowed people to move from "communities of requirement," where they were expected to be raised, work and die, to being able to choose what community they want to live in based on their own particular standards, desires and lifestyle.

Thus, Marshall asserts, towns need to do everything they can in order to become "communities of choice."

Reusser said Marshall's essay stuck in her mind, and she began to ask, "What are we doing with our city, with our businesses, with our schools, with our college, and with our industries" to make Orrville a city of choice?

In 2008, the Chamber developed a Community of Choice steering committee. She said the group "started listening to people" talk about where they saw Orrville heading. Among the speakers the group listened to were real estate professionals, representatives of the Hispanic community, representatives from Orrville City Schools, businesses, Wayne College, industries and the community.

Members of the committee included Mayor Dave Handwerk, Safety-Service Director Steve Wheeler, human resources Director Phil McFarren, Main Street Executive Director Darrin Wasniewski, Popovich, David Lehman, president of Mennonite Mutual; retired J.M. Smucker Co. executive Bob Ellis and J.B. Bryant of Strategic Alignment.

One of the main things that came out of the discussions, Reusser said, was a realization Orrville "needs to fortify and grow our population. We want to make sure we don't shrink."

While Reusser said she loves the fact Orrville has grown at a controlled rate, she said it is important for "people who are looking for a place to live know about Orrville, and we want to make sure they know about it, because they may not. We need to market the community better."

In an effort to learn more about "branding," the committee called in Canton-based W.R.L. Advertising, a chamber member. From that conversation evolved a survey to ask residents to "share what they think Orrville is about."

The new community logo that results from the survey, Reusser said, will be used on the city's website, chamber materials and marketing materials.

She said she anticipates having a new logo in final form sometime early in 2011.

"It's been interesting and fun. We've learned a great deal," said Reusser. "We've tried to learn a lot about housing and neighborhood revitalization as well."

Handwerk said answering the question whether the town's long-time slogan, "A city of diversified industry," remains viable is an important one. He said he is looking forward to learning the results of the survey and finding out what level of importance citizens place on industry.

Wasniewski said he has enjoyed his work on the committee because he has a "passion for community development."

He said the city has "all the right foundational stuff" and "needs to tout its assets" in order to get people to look at it as a place they might want to live.

Wasniewski conceded there is no single motto that is going to be right for every aspect of the city or would universally lure people to live there, just as there is no single tagline for a product that will draw everyone to it. He said the best the committee can do is craft a message or motto it believes will be well received by the largest audience possible.

Reporter Paul Locher can be reached at 330-682-2055 or e-mail at plocher@the-daily-record.com.