OHIO STEEL COUNCIL WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS FROM STATE SENATE AND OHIO DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (April 7, 1999) –  Two state officials have been appointed to represent government organizations on the Ohio Steel Council.

C. Lee Johnson, newly appointed director of the Ohio Department of Development, will represent the DOD on the Council, replacing former director Joseph Robertson. The director of the DOD serves as co-chairman of the Council, alongside an elected co-chairman from the steel industry.

Johnson was appointed director of the DOD in February 1999. Before that, he was president of Limited Distribution Services, a subsidiary of The Limited, Inc., and was in management at Beatrice Companies and Warner Lambert Company.

Johnson also was founder and chairman of the Inland Port Commission, a group promoting Columbus as a distribution point for international goods. He served as chairman of the board for the Port Columbus International Airport and chairman of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. He holds a B.S. in marketing from the University of Illinois.

Ohio Senator Jim Carnes, R-St. Clairsville, will represent the Ohio Senate, replacing former Senator Gary Suhadolnik, R-Strongsville, who resigned to accept an appointment as director of the Ohio Department of Commerce.

Carnes has worked for the Cravat Coal Co. for more than 25 years and, since 1992, has served as treasurer and a member of the company's board of directors. In 1991, the governor appointed him to the State Mine Examining Board, a position he held until 1994.

Carnes was elected to his first full term of the Senate in 1996 after being appointed to an unexpired term in 1995. Carnes serves as chairman of the Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Committee and vice-chairman of the Highways and Transportation Committee. He is also a member of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee and the Agriculture Committee.

Carnes attended the Ohio Insurance School, College of Commerce; and Elliott's School of Business, Bethany College.

The Ohio Steel Council, in existence since 1991 and appointed by the governor, is a public-private partnership designed to strengthen ties among the steel industry, the state of Ohio and its citizens. The Council's member organizations are AK Steel Corp., Armco Inc., CSC Ltd., LTV Steel Co., North Star Steel Ohio, Pittsburgh Logistics Systems, Inc., Republic Technologies International, The Timken Company, USS/KOBE Steel Company, Washington Steel, WCI Steel, Inc., Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., the United Steelworkers of America, the Ohio Legislature, Ohio Department of Development, The Ohio State University and Youngstown State University.