Resident wins prestigious Akron Chamber leadership award

by Michele Collins

(Featured Photo: Richard Fedorovich. Photo submitted.)

The Greater Akron Chamber recently named Richard Fedorovich of Hudson its 2023 H. Peter Burg Economic Development Leadership Award recipient. Fedorovich will be officially honored in a ceremony on March 15.

Executive chairman of Bober Markey Fedorovich, an Akron-based certified public accounting firm, Fedorovich has been a leader in the economic development of Summit County and the Akron area throughout his career.

Yet, he was still surprised by being selected for the award, which he learned during a January chamber event.

“I walked into the restaurant and saw about eight people waiting for me. I really thought I was there to discuss our program, and then after a little while, I realized that they were there for another reason – to tell me about the award,” he said with a laugh.

Fedorovich served as the chair of the Akron Regional Development Board, the predecessor of the Greater Akron Chamber, of which he is a currently trustee. In addition to leading the growth of his firm as a managing partner for over 25 years and now as executive chairman, he also had served on a number of boards for other businesses, nonprofits and civic groups.

Fedorovich said he is pleased it is an award that recognizes his “whole body of work,” rather than one project or one area. Fedorovich also said he had the pleasure of working with the late H. Peter Burg, a well-known community leader in Akron and former CEO of FirstEnergy, and receiving an award named after Burg is especially meaningful.

The H. Peter Burg award, according to the chamber, recognizes a citizen who demonstrates a commitment to economic and community development in the Greater Akron region. It is also one of the highest honors the chamber bestows, a press release about the award said.  

Fedorovich grew up in Akron and graduated from Archbishop Hoban High School and the University of Akron. He considers Akron to be his hometown and a place where he has chosen to stay, work and reside, the Hudsonite said.

“I never saw any reason to leave the Akron area,” said Fedorovich, adding that he lived in Richfield before moving to Hudson in 2013.

His firm said in a statement that Fedorovich is as an example of someone who “has served as both a leader within our community as well as an adviser to many of the region’s large and middle market businesses, stimulating investment and job growth in the region.”

Fedorovich added he sees the award as a way to recognize the economic growth across Northeast Ohio, as both he and his firm consider Cleveland and Akron as a joint economic development center.

“I think many of us have our feet in both camps,” he said. “I think that is true of Hudson as well. It’s a suburb of both Cleveland and Akron.”

Going forward, Fedorovich said he is anxious to encourage younger business members to join the chamber and to serve as economic development leaders in their communities. He was mentored by many Akron business leaders when he was starting his career and is now looking to do the same.

“We really need to do whatever is necessary to bring younger people into service for their community,” he said. “There is a lot of gray hair around the tables of the committees and organizations I am involved with.”

Fedorovich is the 18th recipient of the H. Peter Burg award. Other recipients include County Executive Ilene Shapiro, the University of Akron Foundation’s Roger Read, Synthomer Foundation’s S. Theresa Carter and the late Philip Maynard, a prominent philanthropist and community leader. ∞