In celebration of Dayton’s heritage of business accomplishments, Dayton Magazine, in partnership with the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, created the Dayton Business Hall of Fame to recognize the rich tradition of success and civic involvement of the region’s business community.
The Dayton Business Hall of Fame honors men and women who have made a lasting contribution to the community in economic, cultural and civic endeavors. Inductees were honored at the fifth annual Dayton Business Hall of Fame event July 8 at the Radisson Dayton Downtown, 33 E. Fifth St. The event was sponsored by CareSource, Superior Dental Care and Kettering Health.
Posthumous Honoree – Marion Glass
Founder, Marion’s Piazza
Marion Glass was a man who understood the value of hard work and the importance of innovation. Although he passed away in 2006 at the age of 92, Glass, the founder of Dayton favorite Marion’s Piazza, went to work at a young age to help his family and to put himself on an early path to success. “My father was born in Dayton and went to Kiser High School,” says Roger Glass, the current president and CEO of Marion’s Piazza, who has been with the family business for 56 years. “He dropped out in his junior year because his family needed him to work.”
Even as a young man, Glass was determined to succeed. He would sell ice cream bars to patrons in the ball field that used to sit at the corner of Troy and Leo streets, “Until they ran him off,” laughs his son, Roger. “Later, he started his own printing company and published two local newspapers, the North Dayton and the East Dayton Chatter. His circulation at one point was over 8,000.”
In 1935, Glass opened Marion’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop on North Main Street, then in 1965 he opened the first Marion’s Piazza, at 560 Patterson Road in Kettering. At the time, all local pizza establishments were carry-outs. Ever the innovator, Glass created a piazza with seats for over 200 people. “People came out of the woodwork to eat there, and the rest is history,” says his son.
Marion’s now has nine locations, with piazzas stretching from Troy to Mason. In 2013, and for five out of the next six years, Marion’s Piazza was ranked the No. 1 independent pizza house in the nation by Pizza Today magazine.
–By Tim Walker
Fred Manchur
CEO/President, Kettering Health
Fred Manchur took his time on the road to Dayton, but it proved worth the wait.
Born and raised in Canada, Manchur spent his college years at Andrews University in Michigan, majoring in business. He returned to Canada and was there for another two years before moving to California to attend Loma Linda University to pursue a master’s degree in public health and health care administration.
“I worked in health care in California for 25 years,” Manchur says. “Both my children were born and grew up there.”
When recruiters came calling in 1999 about a position in Dayton, Ohio, at Kettering Medical Center, Manchur was, at first, not interested.
“I had worked for the Adventists health care system for 23 years and I wasn’t ready to leave,” he says.
But the recruiters persisted and eventually Manchur agreed to take the position in 2001. Then in 2005 he became an official American citizen.
“I am richly blessed,” Manchur, who today is CEO and president of Kettering Health, says. “People thought we were crazy to come here but eventually my two children and in-laws all followed us here.”
Manchur also had opportunities to spend time with the late Virginia Kettering, a staunch Dayton benefactor and supporter of the original Kettering Hospital, and George Nelson, the hospital’s founding administrator and first president.
Manchur has seen the system triple in size during his tenure. He moved into his current role after former CEO Frank Perez retired in 2009.
He credits his faith, family and work team always for his success. He and his wife, Mary Kaye, are devoted to their children and grandchildren.
“I tell people what is neat about this community is we are able to pray with patients and families and it doesn’t matter what faith they are,” Manchur says. “Research has proven that prayer works and improves outcomes for patients.”
– By Beth Langefels
Dan McCabe
Chief of Staff, CareSource
CEO, CareSource Foundation
Born and raised in New Jersey, Dan McCabe didn’t start out his career intending to work in the health care industry. He attended Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and majored in economics and political science. After pursuing an MBA in finance and international management at Rutgers University, he earned a master’s degree in human resources.
Starting his professional career working for AT&T in New Jersey and then in Manhattan, he spent 13 years in sales, first as an account executive, then transitioning over to human resources.
“I ended up in Dayton after AT&T acquired NCR Corporation in the early ‘90s,” McCabe says. “I was going to be here two years to help with integration of the two companies.”
But as AT&T restructured and decided to spin off NCR as an independent company. McCabe had a choice to make.
“I opted to stay with NCR because I had a young family and we had fallen in love with midwestern values and living in Dayton.”
After 13 years with NCR, McCabe, who became vice president of global operations, was recruited to work with the new CEO of Dayton Power and Light on shifting the culture. For the next five years, he was chief administrative officer at DP&L.
“I met Pam Morris, the CEO and founder of CareSource, when she was on the DP&L board,” McCabe says. “She approached me about a CAO position there and I started in 2012.”
As McCabe approaches his 10th anniversary with CareSource, he has taken on a new challenge—supporting the CareSource Foundation as CEO.
“The new CEO, Erhardt Preitauer, is dedicated to repositioning the foundation from mostly local to one of national prominence,” McCabe adds.
McCabe’s three children are now grown and living in different cities, but McCabe and his wife, Jean, still reside in the same home in Washington Township they bought when the first moved to Dayton.
– By Beth Langefels
Marty Grunder
President and CEO, Grunder Landscaping
“I grew up on what you’d call a gentleman’s farm,” Marty Grunder, president and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Company, remembers fondly. “I enjoyed working outside, and I still do. We had a garden, and we planted trees all over our yard. It was second nature to work outside, and when I realized I could get paid to do that, that’s how the business blossomed.”
As president and CEO of both Grunder Landscaping and The Grow Group, Grunder has spent a lifetime applying that passion for landscaping and design to every project his company takes on, and then sharing his knowledge with fellow industry leaders. Grunder, who initially started his company 38 years ago as a way to make money to pay for his college education, has turned that early passion for the outdoors into a business that now employees over 60 people.
“I graduated from the University of Dayton with a degree in business administration in 1990,” continues Grunder. “The business financed my entire college education. I’ve grown the company from there, and 25 years ago I started The Grow Group, which has five employees. We now work with owners and leaders of landscaping companies from all over the country, sharing industry knowledge and sales techniques.”
Grundy is honored to be a 2021 inductee into the Dayton Business Hall of Fame, and is humbled to be included with his three fellow honorees. A self-described “cheerleader” for Dayton businesses, he feels that giving of oneself to one’s community—not just in charitable donations, but in time and effort—is one of the most important things we can do for our cities and ourselves.
–By Tim Walker
