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Welcome to Erie DearieThe Lure Company that made Lake Erie The Walleye Capital of the World! Fishing comes to the forefront at YDC and looks to be job of the futureby Richard Jenkins, Communications Coordinator Steve Purdy, QMRP, Program Coordinator of Adult Services at Youngstown Developmental Center; Dan Galbincea III, owner of Erie Dearie; Richard Kovacs, owner of Erie Dearie; and George Winsen, Supported Employment CoordinatorOn July 11, 2003, Erie Dearie purchased the Carlson Tackle Company of Monticello, IL, and moved the operation to Cortland, OH. Erie Dearie is a Fishing Tackle Company based in Cortland, OH. The founder of Erie Dearie, Dan Galbincea, created the legendary Erie Dearie Lure that revolutionized Walleye Fishing in Lake Erie. Through the sale of the Erie Dearie lure and their other products, Erie Dearie has become a force in the fishing industry and the company is looking forward to a growth spurt with the purchase of Carlson Tackle. This purchase and move has created a wonderful opportunity for MASCO and the consumers of Mahoning County. In Illinois, Carlson Tackle Company was one of the first companies to receive a State grant to help the mentally disadvantaged compete in the work place through the packaging of their fishing products and the new owners of Carlson Tackle at Erie Dearie want to continue this tradition. Dan Galbincea, III and Richard Kovacs, owners of Erie Dearie, contacted Tony Napolitano, Procurement Specialist with Mahoning County Board of MR/DD, and discussed their plans to move the Carlson Tackle operation to Cortland and together the three of them got this project started and are very pleased with the progress thus far. "We are very eager to help the consumers of Mahoning County and are looking to make this a huge success," stated Kovacs. "It is definitely a goal of ours to assemble and ship in excess of 1 million pieces a year." The operation really came together when MASCO made the commitment and purchased a blister pack machine from the Department of Human Services of Piatt County, IL. The blister pack machine was used in Piatt County by individuals with disabilities to do the work that has begun in Mahoning County and is now stationed at the Youngstown Developmental Center in Mineral Ridge, OH. Along with the blister pack machine, several million pieces of fishing products arrived from Carlson Tackle in late July and YDC began packaging bobbers and glue for Erie Dearie. George Winsen, Supported Employment Coordinator, stated that, "YDC was chosen as the base for this job due to their large storage capabilities. This project is projected to grow and as sales and orders increase it will eventually move to the workshops at Bev and Meshel. It is just a matter of time." The consumers at YDC have begun assembling the products and shipping them out all over the United States and four other countries. Currently, up to 30 consumers at YDC work on orders every day. The production varies depending on the size and volume of the order, which right now is about 4,000 pieces a week. These orders go out to Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Gander Mountain, Cabela's, Bass Pro, and Outdoor World.  Clients working on an order in the Youngstown Developmental Center workshop"With all the products and the different combinations available it is possible that MASCO and the consumers here could fill orders that include 80 different combinations," stated Galbincea. Kovacs concluded by saying, "It is also important to say that this deal wouldn't have happened without Tony Napolitano, Steve Purdy, George Winsen, and the Youngstown Developmental Center for letting us use their storage facility." Products Erie Dearie has in stock at YDC include:  located on the Silver Leaf page or go directly by hitting the HAWG of FAME button.   TeamFishHoo WebRing |
