Coming off the heels of three successful Truthland events in Columbus, Cambridge and Canton, Energy In Depth took the movie and panel discussion to Youngstown, Ohio.  The event held at the Youngstown Museum of Industry and Labor drew about 60 people who came to watch Truthland and learn more about Utica Shale development happening in the region.

The event attracted supporters, opponents and those interested in educating themselves on the next great generator of jobs and opportunities for eastern Ohio.  After the movie was shown, for those who have not seen the movie be sure to watch at www.Truthlandmovie.com, Energy In Depth hosted an expert panel discussion featuring local and state experts as well as Shelly, the narrator and truth-seeker of the movie.

The panel consisted of Penny Siepel, Vice President of Community Affairs for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association; Shelly the star of Truthland; Tony Paglia, Vice President of  Government Affairs of the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce and Tim Callion Business Agent for the Local 396 Plumbers and Pipefitters Union.

Each panelist brought a unique perspective to the conversation allowing the audience to gain a new understanding regarding each of their backgrounds.  But the most moving portion of the panel discussion was hearing how positively shale development has affected local businesses and organizations like Local 396.

Both Mr. Paglia and Mr. Callion touted the success of the region noting that shale development has provided them with a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale economy.

"We estimate in the last 18 months, jobs created directly and indirectly from the oil and gas industry ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 jobs and investment of over a billion dollars in our area.  We are an area that has seen a lot of problems over the last 30 years.  We have actually been in a recession for the last 30 years.  We were always at the bottom of the list around the country for economic growth and job growth.  There were 100 communities and we were usually 100.  In the last two years we are actually showing we are in the top 10 in the country in job growth and manufacturing growth.  We are seeing a resurgence of manufacturing.  Many of these jobs are dealing with companies who provide equipment, services for the oil and gas industry.”- Tony Paglia, Vice President of  Government Affairs of the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce

READ MORE, WATCH VIDEO: http://www.eidohio.org/local-experts-tout-shale-benefits-at-youngst...