The isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year has hit many hard, but the disruption to daily routines and how services are delivered have bee
Kara Morgan
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of a series of Saturday profiles of area residents and their stories. To suggest a profile, contact features editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or metro editor Marly Reichert at mkosinski@tribtoday.com
LIBERTY Kara Morgan keeps busy as the executive assistant to the superintendent of the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
In her role with MCBDD, she takes pride in being able to serve others and make lives better for many, even during a pandemic.
“I love knowing that even if in the smallest way, I am helping to make people’s lives better,” she said. “Prior to the pandemic when we were able to visit the school and the folks at the Centre at Javit, it was always wonderful to see everyone. I am a people person at heart and I look forward to the end of this pandemic so we can get back normal.”
Joe Cassese, owner of Cassese’s MVR, stands behind the bar of the well-known restaurant bordering the Youngstown State University campus. Cassese used a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $140,000 to keep his employees working during the viral outbreak.
Upward of 2,600 loans of $150,000 or less through the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal loan endeavor to help keep people employed during the viral outbreak, were given to businesses in Mahoning County.
Companies secured more than $95.8 million in loans that owners / operators used to preserve more than 15,000 jobs, according to data released from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The Vindicator reviewed the latest data dump by the federal government for Ohio, searching for local companies by community listed in the company’s mailing address.