Information on the 2026 Business Series Classes and Ropp Triplett Business Plan Competition is HERE.
By Alec Keller
Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs (BCE) 2025 grand prize recipient Jenni Staude is bringing a hands-on creative experience to communities across northwest Ohio with eco-friendly stuffed animals created aboard a brightly colored mobile workshop.
On January 24, the Bluffton-based dress company Super Cute Dresses featured the work of co-owner and designer Kariann Ringger in a Washington, D.C. fashion show in conjunction with the company’s Silver sponsorship of the National March for Life. The business is an online retailer of dresses for pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. This includes nursing, non-nursing, and mommy-and-me styles.
The following nine land transfers took place in the Bluffton Exempted Village School District for the month of January 2026 as reported on the websites of Allen County Auditor Rachael S. Gilroy and Hancock County Auditor Charity A. Rauschenberg.
COMMERCIAL
3 parcels on DAVES WAY and STATE RT 103 - 1/15/2026 - $155,000 – Commercial Vacant Land - From C T E ASHLAND INC to SKRJ LLC
MEDIA RELEASE__Bluffton, your help is needed! This summer, our village has the opportunity to experience a hot new entertainment experience. Bluffton's America 250 committee has scheduled a drone light show in June following the Lions Club Festival of Wheels.
The show consists of 100 computer-synchronized areodrones (UAVs) creating colorful light formations and 3D pictures in the sky. It’s a nighttime color spectacle in the sky, much like fireworks. Drone light shows usually occur in bigger cities and can attract quite large crowds. It is rare that villages our size host events such as this. Wouldn’t it be great if we could enter the next 250 years of American independence as a host for this new-age attraction? Gene Benroth, known as Mr. Bluffton and one of the ardent civic promoters of all things Bluffton, was quoted once saying, “If we’re doing it, we might as well do it BIG.”
MEDIA RELEASE__The Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs (BCE), in partnership with the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce, is inviting current and aspiring business owners to participate in the 2026 Small Business Information Series, a six-week educational program designed to support local entrepreneurship and economic growth.
The series will take place on Tuesday evenings from March 3 through April 7, 2026, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sessions will be held at the Bluffton Middle School Library, located at 116 S. Jackson Street. Participants may also attend remotely through live broadcasts from the Borra Center at Rhodes State College. REGISTER HERE.
MEDIA RELEASE__The West Central Association of REALTORS announced its annual award recipients during its recent Inauguration and Awards Banquet.
The Rookie of the Year Award was awarded to Zac Kohli with Superior Plus Realtors, honoring exceptional achievement and promise demonstrated early in their real estate career.
The REALTOR® of the Year Award was presented to Lauren Girardot with At Home Realty, recognizing outstanding professionalism, leadership, and dedication to the real estate industry and the community.
